


The World I Once Knew

by outtogarden



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Mating Bond, Naga, Naga!England, Prejudice, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-10 01:01:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outtogarden/pseuds/outtogarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred Jones is a college student when he encounters a half-human creature named Arthur Kirkland. To the rest of the world, Arthur and his kind are beasts that need to be locked up and experimented on, but Alfred can't stop himself from quickly becoming entranced. </p><p>Snake!Arthur x Alfred</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Outtogarden here. This was originally posted on ff.net and I've decided to post it here, too. Enjoy!

“Mattie, c’mon! Hurry up or we won’t get there on time!” Alfred Jones yelled back to his twin brother, who was falling behind him in the dark woods more and more every second.

“We have lots of time, Al,” the more patient of the two twins shot back. Rolling his eyes, he tried in vain to keep his eye on his seven year old brother who was currently rocketing through the woods without any care as to where they were actually going. “You know that it’s back this way, right?” Matthew asked, knowing his quiet voice would reach Alfred despite the growing distance between them. As expected, Alfred stopped immediately and whipped around, causing his dark blond cowlick to bounce a little in place. 

“Huh?” Alfred finally looked around at where they were and realized that Matthew was right. “Oh…I guess I wasn’t really paying attention.” Now wearing a sheepish expression, Alfred made his way back to where Matthew was standing with his arms crossed and the toes of one foot tapping on the forest floor. 

Matthew rolled his eyes once more at the familiarly brainless antics of his brother. “I know you weren’t. How about you follow me? I was actually listening when Gilbert was saying where to go.”

“You didn’t even want to come!” Alfred protested, but nonetheless began following his brother (at a walking pace this time) to the spot in the woods where they had said they would meet their friends tonight. It wasn’t unusual for them to meet up late like this. As a group of seven year old boys, they loved to prove to each other that they were indeed very tough and brave, thus beginning a series of meetings in the woods where they would sit around a few flashlights, tell scary stories, and occasionally dare each other to do stupid stuff. More often than not, the last activity was between Alfred and Matthew’s friend Gilbert. 

“I never want to come, Al. I only go because I know that if I don’t you and Gilbert will end up getting hurt,” Matthew patiently said for what had to be the fortieth time. Using his small height to the advantage, he ducked under a low-hanging branch before popping up on the other side and holding it up a little for his slightly taller brother. 

Alfred pouted upon hearing his brother’s words, but couldn’t exactly deny them. The first time they had one of these meetings, he had gotten into a fight with Gilbert in the name of Matthew’s honor. Alfred couldn’t just let his brother’s first friend get off easy! He had to understand what he was dealing with if he ever hurt Mattie. Although, Gilbert was pretty strong for his age, so the two boys had just ended up in a stalemate until Kiku had threatened to go and get an adult. 

Making their way around a dense clump of bushes, the two boys could finally hear faint chattering coming from ahead of them, although as per tradition, the flashlights were still off. It had been suggested several times that it would be easier for them all to find each other if they turned them on like a beacon, but the idea was always shot down in favor of ritualistically turning them on simultaneously once they were all together. 

Alfred was getting excited and felt that he could begin running again now that he knew where he was going. Grabbing Matthew’s hand, he began dragging the smaller boy towards the others, laughing at Matthew’s irritated expression. As they burst into the clearing, Alfred was a little disappointed to note that they were the last ones there. Not that this was anything out of the ordinary, but he wanted just once to be able to get there before someone else. Their friends looked up at them as they entered.

“Hey guys! Sorry we’re late, Matthew let us get lost!” Alfred claimed, rushing over to take his seat next to Kiku, his best friend, in the circle. They had decided early on to not bother constructing a permanent meeting place by gathering logs and such for them to sit on. If it was a new place each time, it added to the whole “super-secret club” feel. 

The rest of the group, used to Alfred blaming his tardiness on his brother, simply ignored the statement and proceeded to huddle closer to the flashlights resting on the pine needles in the center of their circle. Ivan sat directly across from Alfred and Kiku with Toris sitting on Alfred’s right. This left Eli to sit across from Gilbert, who acted as the self-proclaimed leader and was ushering Matthew over to sit next to him. Ruffling his friend’s hair fondly, Gilbert stood up to address everyone.

“Now that we are finally all here, I declare the Order of the Awesome…open!” 

Kiku, Alfred, Matthew, Toris, and Ivan all reached out to the flashlight directly in front of them and flicked it on. Eli, however, shot off the ground and grabbed hold of Gilbert’s shirt collar.

“We aren’t calling it that!” This was a common fight the two would have. Eli, named Elizaveta at birth, was the group’s only girl. This wasn’t something they had initially wanted to allow, but she also happened to be the only person they had met that could soundly beat up Gilbert without appearing to have to even try. That, and the fact that she never acted like a girl anyway, had led the rest of the boys to accept her into their group. 

“Yes we are and you can’t do anything about it!” Gilbert held his ground. Eli looked ready to shout something back at him, but before she could get anything out, Ivan cut in.

“Perhaps we should all sit down now? I have story to tell,” he said with a childish grin on his face. From where Alfred was sitting across the circle, he could feel himself getting goose bumps just by Ivan’s tone of voice. Not that he was scared of him or anything, because heroes like him simply didn’t get scared. But there was no way anyone could deny that there was just something…off…about the Russian foreign exchange student. Alfred could also feel Toris shivering slightly from where he sat next to him.

Eli gave one last glare towards Gilbert before plopping herself back down onto the ground. Gilbert, now brushing himself off and holding his head high, also sat back down and gestured for Ivan to go ahead. 

Now that all eyes were on Ivan, the largest boy was smiling even wider. He adjusted his light scarf before turning off his flashlight; the indicator that he was about to speak. Alfred exchanged slightly nervous glances with Kiku, knowing that the most unsettling stories always came from Ivan.

“The story is about these very woods. It is said that there is a hidden place in them inhabited by strange creatures.”

“What are the strange creatures?” Alfred interrupted, letting his hyperactive curiosity get the better of him. Ivan shot him an irritated glare, causing Alfred to shrink back a little on the ground.

“Let me get started. These creatures are freaks of nature. They are half-human, half-snake and look mostly like us but for some changes. They have these long, slimy tails instead of legs and eyes that are said to make people go crazy! And they have sharp teeth that will kill the most powerful man. Their ears are pointy and on their arms are these creepy scaly patches. They don’t have a name since anyone who sees them ends up dead.”

“Oh please! I’ve never heard about anybody dying in this area,” Gilbert shouted, although he looked fairly upset since it was well-known that he had a fear of snakes. Alfred and Kiku, on the other hand, were fascinated by them and so were hanging onto Ivan’s every word.

“Of course we don’t hear about it! The grown-ups wouldn’t want to scare us, would they?” Ivan questioned. Gilbert hesitated before shaking his head and leaning back on his hands, indicating that Ivan could continue.

“And the reason none of us has ever seen one of these creatures is that they rarely go out of their magic place. Humans can’t find them on their own, since they only are found if they want to be. And the only way a human could ever get to their hidden home is by getting dragged sloooowly to it in the clutches of one of the beasts. The creatures are said to prey on those who are weak or injured, so I hope none of you fall and hurt yourselves in the dark one of these nights.” The way Ivan grinned after saying this made it pretty obvious that he actually couldn’t care less if any of them were dragged off.

“So… what happens once a person gets to their hiding place?” asked Kiku timidly.

“Eventually they wake up to find themselves surrounded by these monsters. The glowing of their eyes is the last thing they ever see before they feel themselves being ripped apart piece by piece and eaten alive.” As Ivan finished his story, everyone stared at him with horrified expressions. Scary stories were always told at these gatherings, but they almost never contained violence. Gilbert was shaking slightly, unable to believe how freaky Ivan was being. Matthew, who wasn’t sure he believed the Russian, noticed and pulled Gilbert into a hug, causing Alfred to glare at them before voicing what was on his mind.

“How do you even know about this anyway?” 

Ivan gave him an icy look and decided that it was time to put his full plan into action. “I have my sources. The point is, these half-snake men are rumoured to be able to go long periods of time without feeding on people, but it makes them even more aggressive so they try to feed as often as possible. In fact, I heard from my source that these creatures haven’t taken a victim in a few months. Do you know what that means?” Ivan looked around at everyone in the group in turn, pleased to note the enraptured expressions as they all shook their heads fearfully.

“It means that they will be desperate for human flesh. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t even care about a victim being sick or weak.” At this, Ivan’s gaze became positively terrifying. “In fact, they might just even content themselves with little children.”

There was a collective gasp throughout the group at these words. By this point, Alfred was practically sitting in Kiku’s lap and was holding Toris like a stuffed animal. Matthew and Gilbert were in much the same state. Even Eli, who was never scared by these tales, looked a little spooked. Ivan sat back, thoroughly pleased, but he wasn’t done yet.

“You all shouldn’t worry though. The creatures tend to prefer adults over children. Kids don’t have enough meat to fully satisfy them. Although…” 

Here Ivan paused to look straight at Alfred. “When they do strike the young, they go after the lively ones. Lively ones with poor vision and blond hair.”

Just as Alfred’s eyes widened in fear, he felt hands grab him from behind and roughly drag him away from the circle.

Alfred and the rest of the group collectively released high-pitched, terrified screams as Alfred flailed as much as he could. After a few seconds, he succeeded in whacking his captor in the face and felt the hands holding him loosen their grip slightly. Not one to ever waste an opportunity, Alfred tore away screaming and ran back to the circle to find that everyone else, including his brother, had already scattered back to their homes. Not even bothering to notice that Ivan was still there smiling pleasantly, Alfred shot off out of the clearing and didn’t stop until he had met with his brother back at their home and had planted himself safely under his covers. 

Ivan watched his friends run away with glee in his eyes before turning to his accomplice. “Thank you, Sadiq. That went exactly as planned.” The dark-haired boy was laughing loudly from where he taken Alfred.

“Anytime, Ivan. You were right; that was awesome!” The two boys shook hands and agreed that they should work together again before parting ways into the night. 

After that night, even though they found out it had only been a prank, the group decided to stop the club meetings. All of them, especially Gilbert, swore a thousand times over that they hadn’t been at all afraid, but none of them were willing to go into those woods again. 

 

12 years later

 

Alfred Jones was having a stressful day. This wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the nineteen year old college student taking advanced classes, but this was just ridiculous. It had started when he had woken up twenty minutes late for advanced biology, his most important class of the day. After falling out of bed in a panic and hitting his head, he had tried to inconspicuously slink in, but the universe hated him today and he was immediately noticed. Naturally, they were having a major pop quiz worth a good portion of the overall grade. Since he was late, the professor didn’t even offer to let him take it another time. He simply slammed the quiz down onto Alfred’s desk and informed him that he still had until the end of class to finish it. After only managing to finish about half, Alfred was assigned a couple hours of homework, lectured on the importance of punctuality, and then was told he would have to sprint in order to get to the dining hall in time for food.

He had thought his luck had turned around when he saw that hamburgers were being served that day, but he had been held back by his professor for so long that they had run out. Brilliant. After being forced to just get some soup, Alfred had to eat by himself since his friends had already left for other classes or gone back to their dorm rooms. Halfway through his soup, he realized that he still hadn’t finished his assignment for his next class, resulting in him shoveling down the rest of his meal so he could quickly botch the rest of the work. 

As if all of that hadn’t been enough, he had been called on several times in his last class when he didn’t know the answer, endured Ivan flinging spitballs at him, and finally tripped down a whole flight of stairs.

And these events were nothing in comparison to this. 

“No, dude! I need my car, you don’t!” 

“I just explained to you, I have to borrow it!” Gilbert iterated, gesturing at a frowning Elizaveta.

“It’s not my fault you’re too much of a loser to have your own car. Therefore it isn’t my responsibility to provide you with one.” Alfred said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest while shooting Elizaveta a look he hoped came off as apologetic. Judging by the roll of her eyes and shrugging, she likely had interpreted the look as “Why are you with this guy again?”

“THE AWESOME ME IS NOT A LOSER!” Gilbert yelled defensively. “You are just too lazy to walk back to the dorms!”

Although he knew full well why Alfred wouldn’t want to. Their university campus was a few dozen miles away from the neighborhood they had lived in as kids, but the bordering woods they used to meet in were so expansive that they stretched to this area as well. The layout of the campus had been planned around the woods to “conserve a valuable natural resource” and as a result, the roads were created to be extremely narrow. This meant that they didn’t have any sidewalk, so the dorms were only approachable by car or by foot through the woods. Even though there was a known “shortcut”, it still took about half an hour to walk and college students were nothing if not tragically lazy. 

“Gilbert, don’t be an ass!” Elizaveta cut in. “If you are going to be like this I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“What?! No!” Gilbert looked indignant that Elizaveta would even suggest such a thing, even though he was surely used to it by now. He had been attempting to woo her (with little success) ever since she had hit puberty and realized that she was indeed a female. Although, despite the fact that she wore dresses and makeup now, she could still beat him soundly on her worst of days and reminded him often.

Elizaveta rolled her eyes at Gilbert and turned to Alfred. “Look Alfred, don’t listen to him. We’ll be fine without the car, okay?” she reassured, not wanting to make Alfred feel bad for stopping their efforts to go out. This, however, gave Gilbert an idea.

Sighing dramatically, Gilbert forced the angry expression off his face. “She’s right!” This exclamation earned him an odd look from both Alfred and Elizaveta, who had known him for years and had almost never heard him admit to anyone besides himself being right. 

“Huh?” asked Alfred intelligently. Gilbert tried very hard to restrain the devious smirk that wanted to appear on his face.

“I said she’s right. I’m sure we can find someone else to be our hero for the day…” he trailed off nonchalantly, knowing Alfred would take the bait.

“I would be your hero?! I mean, wow, if it really means that much to you guys,” Alfred paused to dig around in his pockets before withdrawing his keys and holding them out to Gilbert. “Then here ya go!”

Gilbert grinned widely and snatched them up; twirling them around his finger before snaking an arm around Elizaveta and leading her towards Alfred’s Explorer. “Thanks Alfred! We’ll have it back later tonight!” called Gilbert.

“No problem dudes!” Alfred responded, flashing a trademark grin and thumbs up.

As Elizaveta got into the passenger seat, she shot Gilbert a disapproving glare. “That was a dirty trick you pulled,” she muttered while removing some empty drink bottles from under her seat.

“Kesesese! Hey, it worked so no complaining!” he said, throwing down his foot on the gas pedal and speeding away before Alfred could figure out what had just happened.

As the car pulled out of the science building parking lot, Alfred looked at his surroundings and realized that he would be walking home through the woods.

“Well, fuck.”

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

It wasn’t that Alfred minded a little exercise. After all, he had played American football all throughout high school and even now in college would get together with some friends on the weekend for basketball. He had always been the athletic type, so a half hour hike on a well-used path in the woods was no problem. In fact, for a while he was even enjoying the quiet time in nature. 

What he did mind was getting lost. He wasn’t sure exactly how this had happened since kids came through here every day and it should have been impossible to get off the trail, but he guessed he had been distracted by the stress of the day and wandered off. 

“Stupid biology….stupid teacher….stupid Gilbert…stupid hero complex…” he muttered angrily, looking around on the forest floor for any sign of people passing through. Walking around randomly after realizing he was lost probably wasn’t a great idea, but he really didn’t care at the moment. All he wanted to do was get back to his dorm room that he shared with Matthew, take a nap, watch some TV, consume all the food in his room, and stay up all night playing online games with his friend Kiku. Was that really too much to ask?

Apparently so, as he didn’t see any sign that he was even remotely close to where he should be. Looking up at the sky, he heaved a small sigh of worry. He could tell it would start getting dark soon and there was no way he wanted to be out there after that. Chewing on his lower lip in apprehension, he wondered if he should try retracing where he thought he had come from.

“Oh, wait!” He still had his backpack with him from school earlier and he knew he had stuffed his phone into the side pocket while rushing around this morning. All he had to do was look at the Map app and he would be saved! Swinging the bag around his shoulder, he set it on the forest floor and dug around a few seconds before withdrawing the iPhone 5 he had bought for himself last month. 

“Hellz yeah!” he cheered, doing a celebratory fist pump that quickly became dejected as he desperately tried to turn the phone on. It was dead. Of course. 

Trying to quell the rising feelings of panic, Alfred turned and headed in the opposite direction he had been going. Eventually he had to come to something, right? Mentally cursing himself and the universe once more, he stopped abruptly when he thought he heard a rustling sound. It sounded like…something sliding over leaves?

“Heh…wind you can’t fool me,” he said to himself as he began walking a bit faster. He was already in a bad situation and he did not need to make it worse by freaking himself out over some wind. But he couldn’t stop the thoughts creeping into his mind about terrifying creatures coming to take him away and rip him apart. It had been over a decade since Ivan had pulled some stupid prank on them in the woods and they were all adults now (at least technically), but ever since that night he had tried to avoid the forest whenever possible. He knew his friends had probably long since forgotten about the half-human monsters, but now that he was out here all alone he couldn’t help but think about them.

He was slightly ashamed to admit that when he heard another rustling sound, he let out a rather unmanly squeak and began practically sprinting away. He was so absorbed in trying to put as much distance between himself and the sound as possible that he didn’t register the sudden slope in the ground ahead until his foot caught on something and sent him tumbling down. The last thing he saw before landing was the smattering of rocks rushing toward him at the bottom of the hill. He felt a sudden pain in his body and then everything was blackness.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Arthur Kirkland was having a terrible day. Not that this was horribly unusual for him, as the people of his clan were mostly composed of idiots and perverts, but this was just ridiculous. Francis took it upon himself to be more of a wanker than usual and had constantly pestered Arthur until he couldn’t take it anymore. After threatening to mercilessly castrate Francis should he bother him one more time, Arthur had thrown caution to the wind and ventured out of the bounds of his clan’s designated area.

He had never shared the rest of his clan’s fear of leaving the safety zone. While he knew that outside the area he could be seen by humans, it was difficult for him to muster up any kind of fear when he knew that humans almost never came to this part of the woods.

He couldn’t be blamed for wanting to sneak off every now and then like he was doing presently. He had never known anything but the few square miles of his home since it was supposedly the only area that was safe for his clan. He heard stories of other clans in various parts of the world, but they had never been proven true. Unfortunately, this meant that he was stuck with the companions he had now. He had a big family, even for the Naga species, but all of his brothers were complete twats to be avoided at all costs. Really the only one of the whole clan he got along with decently was Lukas. At least he could appreciate his brand of sarcasm and didn’t mock him for occasionally practicing magic.

As Arthur slithered along the forest floor with his body flush against the ground, he wondered where exactly he was going. When he had left, all he knew was that he wanted to get away for a little while. He still vaguely recognized the landscape, but he knew that if he went much further he would be in unchartered territory and the last thing he wanted was to get lost. While Naga had a decent sense of direction, it was still easy to get turned around in new areas. 

As he paused for a moment to bring his torso erect, he looked around at the trees and listened for any sounds of a potential meal. He could hear some birds chirping nearby, but didn’t feel like expending the energy to climb a tree right now. He focused his hearing even further and was surprised when he heard the very distinct rhythmic crunching of leaves that accompanied human footsteps. After a moment’s hesitation, he lowered his body to the ground once more and began moving towards the sound. 

After a few minutes, he was much nearer to the human. He had no intentions of getting too close, but he didn’t want to waste an opportunity to do some observation. He stopped moving when he thought he heard the footsteps speed up and considered just leaving and going back home, but curiosity got the better of him. He didn’t realize that the human was running until he emerged from a dense clump of bushes and caught a glimpse of it several yards away. He watched, enraptured, as the human (male, it seemed) used his strong legs to carry him quickly through the woods. Arthur could move just as fast, of course, but he was fascinated with the way the humans moved. He knew they used what they called “legs”, but he found them strange.

He was so wrapped up in his interest that he almost didn’t notice that the human was headed straight for a steep slope in the ground. Arthur looked on helplessly as the male tripped and flew over the ground. There was a sharp noise as the human hit the bottom, but no sound came after that.

Arthur furrowed his brow in worry. The human was probably hurt, but what could he do about it? Well, one thing was for certain. There was no way he could just leave now and go back home. Cautiously, Arthur came out from behind the bushes and tried to move towards the human as quietly as possible in case he hadn’t been knocked out. Carefully maneuvering down the slope, Arthur caught sight of the human lying at the bottom.

Unconcious, Arthur thought to himself as he approached the male. Judging by the position of his head on the rock, he had hit it when falling down. Arthur was no stranger to various injuries, as his brothers were a rowdy bunch and had been hurt often enough for Arthur to know that this stranger likely had a concussion. Biting his lip (minding his sharpened front teeth), he hesitantly reached out and poked the human’s face. When he received no reaction, Arthur frowned deeply and furrowed his eyebrows. Not that he was worried, mind you. He just didn’t want this human dying here and have the scent of death scare off potential prey.

He could remember clearly his mother’s lectures on the importance of staying away from humans.

“If you ever see one, just stay as far away as possible, okay?” she had said, worriedly wringing her hands and twisting her tail. “If they see you, they won’t hesitate for an instant to kill you or harm you in any way. It’s what humans do…they destroy what they cannot understand.”

He had nodded obediently. He was young then and hadn’t actually seen a human before, so he took it in blind faith that his mother was right. A few years later, however, he had gone beyond the borders while hunting for food and heard voices. He had quickly slithered into a bush to watch as two real humans walked by. They were chatting happily together and occasionally laughing, but what had shocked Arthur was how similar they seemed to him. He had looked down at his own body and then back up at theirs, marveling in the fact that from the waist up, they were nearly identical save for some miscellaneous scales and sharp teeth on Arthur’s part. When he had confronted his mother about the similarities, she had simply explained that while they might be related to humans, they were different because of the other half of their genetics.

Still, Arthur could not make himself be afraid of creatures that seemed so much like him. Every now and then he would venture out of his clan’s boundaries and catch sight of a human. Each time, he would learn something new about them. Truly the only differences he could see between them and himself were physical. He secretly thought that his mother was wrong; that his kind were the ones that feared what they didn’t understand. 

That’s why when this human was unresponsive to Arthur’s further pokings and proddings, he gently lifted him up into his arms, painstakingly slithered all the way back to his clan’s area, and avoided other members of his clan in order to sneak this wounded human into his den.


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred drifted back into consciousness slowly, letting his senses return to him in stages. The first thing his brain registered was a pounding, aching pain over his entire body, but especially in his head. His concussion addled mind couldn’t quite figure out why that was, so he let it go for the moment to save himself from an even worse headache. 

The next thing he was able to discern was that something was making a fair amount of noise not too far away from him. He could hear the clinking of what sounded like glass and an unidentifiable rustling. After another second, he was able to detect the scent of something distinctly like the outdoors: fresh air mixed with rain and grass.

Upon letting his eyelids flutter open, Alfred could only make out the color grey through his blurry vision. It seemed that he had somehow lost his glasses during the fall. He thought he felt something like straw beneath him and moved his finger slightly to feel what he was laying on, and sure enough, his hand was met with a slight prickle and the crunch of what might have been leaves. 

Alfred let out an involuntary groan as he attempted to turn his head toward the source of the noises. They ceased immediately, but the silence only lasted for a couple seconds before he heard the rustling and sliding coming closer to him. 

Afraid to move his head again and cause another spike of pain, Alfred simply let his eyes adjust slightly to the new environment and roamed them over his surroundings as much as he could. He was incredibly surprised to find himself in what looked like a cave-type dwelling with various shelves containing objects he couldn’t discern through poor eyesight. He saw out of his peripheral vision that he was indeed laying on a pile of leaves and straw, but instead of being scratchy and uncomfortable it was actually quite soft and warm.

Alfred jumped a little when there was suddenly movement beside him and a man’s face came partially into view, although considering the noises he had heard, he really should have expected that he wasn’t alone. The man was observing him with wide, deep-green eyes filled with an emotion that Alfred easily recognized from his time spent in science classes as curiosity.

The man didn’t say anything, instead letting the seconds trickle by as he observed Alfred. After a few more moments of silence, Alfred started growing extremely uncomfortable. He had no idea who this was and it was unnerving how the man just kept staring… It was especially irritating when Alfred couldn’t do a whole lot of observing back. He could just barely make out pale skin, choppy blond hair, and those eyes that leaked fascination, but Alfred couldn’t see any more details without his glasses.

“Wh…” Alfred sounded, unable to get the words out in order to ask where he was due to the dryness of his throat. Upon hearing Alfred speak, the man seemed to jolt out of some sort of stupor and fished around behind himself before procuring a wooden bowl containing a clear liquid and holding it out to Alfred. Alfred’s eyes narrowed in confusion, not quite understanding what he was expected to do. The man seemed to be able to read Alfred’s sudden change in expression, finally clearing his throat to provide an explanation.

“Erm…hello. No need to be alarmed, this is just water. I thought you might be thirsty.”

Alfred hesitated before nodding and slowly reaching his aching arms out to the bowl. It hurt to move like this, but he desperately needed to quench his thirst. As he greedily gulped down the water, he could feel the stranger’s eyes still on him. Why was he staring at Alfred like he was the most interesting thing on the planet? Although Alfred usually loved being the center of attention, when it was just one person that he didn’t know it was plain creepy.

When the bowl of water was empty, Alfred set it down on the ground and weakly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His throat felt less like sandpaper now and Alfred was determined to get answers as to why he was there. Had he been kidnapped? Mattie was probably worried about him, although Alfred had no way of knowing how long he had been gone.

“Where am I and who are you?” Alfred said as he cautiously attempted to shift his head slightly to get a better view of the stranger. The man seemed to hesitate, opening his mouth to answer before slowly closing it again and taking a few seconds to think his answer through. 

“You are in my den. I saw you fall and took you here when I realized you were injured to treat your wound.”

Injured…? That’s right, Alfred realized. He hadn’t been able to remember until just then, but he had been running through the woods when he fell and must have hit his head. But then…

“Did you carry me here by yourself?”

The strange man looked sheepish at that, looking away from Alfred before answering. “Yes, well, it wasn’t easy. You are quite the heavy load.”

“Hey, I’m not fat!” Alfred exclaimed indignantly. Okay, so maybe he had been eating a lot recently and gained a little weight but he was totally not fat, dammit.

A slight smile tugged at the man’s lips, but as Alfred was still lying mostly on the ground and didn’t yet have his glasses back, he missed it. “I didn’t say that. I’m Arthur, by the way.”

Alfred smiled brightly, but didn’t bother mustering up the energy to extend an arm to shake Arthur’s hand. The poor limbs had had enough trouble just holding up that bowl. “Well, nice to meetcha…I think. I’m Alfred F. Jones!” Alfred tried to turn in order to get a better view of the man and frowned deeply when he still couldn’t see through his blurry vision. “Say, do you happen to have my glasses? I kind of can’t see without them.”

Arthur merely looked confused. “Your...what?”

“Um…ya know, glasses. The frame things that go on my face?” Alfred made a gesture towards his head, wondering how someone could not know what glasses were.

“Oh, of course! My apologies, I removed them when I was tending to your head wound. I didn’t realize you needed those to actually see…my kind doesn’t need them. Hang on a second, I have them here somewhere.”

“Wait, did you say your kind? What do you mean by that?” Alfred could see more of his surroundings now that he was properly sitting up and was creeped out to note that he genuinely seemed to be in a type of cave.

“Hmm? Oh, yes,” Arthur commented as he rummaged behind him and held out Alfred’s glasses. “We call ourselves the Naga.”

Alarmed by Arthur’s words, Alfred hurriedly jammed the glasses onto his face in order to see what he had been previously unable to. After the millisecond it took his vision to adjust to the sudden change, he at last got a full view of everything that was Arthur. 

And promptly screamed in terror. 

Arthur’s eyes widened in surprise as Alfred began flailing about on the ground, apparently trying to stand but unable to due to a combination of injury and panic. 

“Oh god please don’t eat me I’m too young to die!” Forgetting about his pain, Alfred decided to stop trying to stand up and run, settling instead for crawling backwards away from Arthur until he felt his back hit a cold stone wall. He couldn’t believe that stupid freak Ivan had been right all along and now this creature was going to rip him apart and devour him and he wouldn’t even be able to say goodbye to his pet whale on virtualpets.com.

However, instead of slithering towards Alfred with his six foot long tail and stripping his flesh away from his skin, Arthur looked positively disgusted. “Eat you? Oh how foul! Is that what you humans really think?” 

At this, Alfred’s anxiety decreased by a small fraction, but kept his guard up just in case Arthur was trying to trick him into not putting up a fight. “Well…yeah! I mean, why else would you bring me to this creepy lair thing?”

Arthur started to look just plain offended. “Excuse you, but this ‘creepy lair thing’ happens to be where I live!”

“Dude seriously? That’s just sad,” Alfred said conversationally before remembering that he was supposed to be afraid. “But if you didn’t bring me here to eat me, then what am I doing here?”

“I told you already!” Arthur snapped. He was starting to doubt the intelligence of this human. “I brought you here because you were injured and in need of medical care.”

Alfred remained silent for a moment. He supposed that did make sense… Now that he was taking a moment to stop panicking, he could see Arthur more clearly. He had pale skin that met vibrant green scales around a slim waist. His arms were crossed over a lightly muscled chest and had a small patch of scales on them. His nose was petite and angular and dotted with a few light freckles. Above this were his expressive green eyes offset by thick eyebrows and framed by messy, light blond hair that had two slightly pointed ears peeking out. Although Arthur was currently scowling, he really wasn’t all that intimidating. In fact, he was actually kind of attractive…

Alfred mentally scolded himself for that last thought and realized that Arthur was waiting for him to say something. “You really don’t want to eat me?”

“Heavens no, that would practically be cannibalism.” 

Alfred wasn’t sure if that term could really apply in this situation, but decided to let it go and believe Arthur for the time being. “Okay…sooo mind telling me what exactly you are?”

“I already answered that question, too. Really do you not pay attention to anything?” Arthur sighed, rubbing his temple. This human…Alfred…was already giving him a headache. Maybe his mother had been half-right and humans were dangerous….just dangerously stupid.

“Well sorry for not hearing what you were saying properly. I was kind of freaking out over the fact that you have a tail,” Alfred exclaimed, gesturing towards the Naga’s bottom half.

Arthur chose not to remark on Alfred’s obvious comment. “I am what we call a Naga. I am half-snake, half-human. I have the body and intelligence of a human (or better than a human if this Alfred character was anything to go by) with heightened senses of smell and hearing and obviously the tail of a snake.”

Alfred’s eyes widened. “So have you been living here this whole time? I’ve heard stories but I thought they were just made up to scare people!”

“If by that you mean my entire life, then yes. We aren’t exactly supposed to leave…” 

Alfred thought he could sense a bitter undertone to Arthur’s words, but decided not to inquire about it. After all, he was a biology major and he had a dozen other questions that needed answers, pronto. “How do you even exist? It’s not like humans and snakes can mate,” Alfred mused. 

“How the hell should I know? It’s not as if I was around for the creation of my species.” Arthur had wondered about that before, but he knew that asking his mother questions wouldn’t get him anywhere. Even the elders of his clan were too young to have any knowledge of that sort of thing.

Alfred was disappointed by this answer, but didn’t let it discourage him. “So then what do you eat? Are you warm or cold-blooded? Do you lay eggs? Are you poisonous? When do-”

“Shut up you wanker! One question at a time!” Arthur seethed. Was he honestly expected to keep up with so many questions at once? “I eat small mammals and whatever fruit there is in the woods. I don’t know what you mean about my blood, but I suppose I do get cold easily. There is a place nearby where I like to lay out in the sun to keep warm. I can’t personally lay eggs; I am a male, you know. However, the females in my clan do. My sharpened teeth to produce a toxin that can stun small animals, but I doubt it would have much effect on larger creatures like you. Any more questions?” Arthur finished.

“Oh, loads!” Now that Alfred felt his life was in no danger, he let curiosity take over and scooted a little closer to the other man. “Hey, how long was I unconscious, anyway?”

“Quite a few hours. It was dark once I finally got you back here and you slept clear through the night. Daylight broke just a couple of hours ago,” Arthur said, nodding his head toward the entrance of his den where, sure enough, a gentle light could be seen coming through the woven mat that served as a door.

Alfred groaned, resting his head between his hands. Matthew was going to kill him! 

“Is…everything alright?” Arthur asked hesitantly. Alfred looked up and gave a grin, assuring him that everything was fine.

“Yeah, it’s just that I probably worried someone last night by not showing up. Man, I’m so lucky that yesterday was Friday. If I had missed another day of biology class I would have been toast,” Alfred said more to himself than Arthur. 

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He had heard humans talking about something called “class” before, but he really had no idea what it was. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to see that you’re alright, then.”

“Yup, and then he’ll proceed to hit me,” Alfred sighed. Nobody but him knew how scary Matthew was when angry and they never believed him when he mentioned it. “I’m talking about my twin brother, by the way. We’re totally roommates!”

“Oh, that…sounds nice.” Actually, to Arthur it didn’t sound nice at all. He didn’t know about twins, but he had many brothers and was sincerely relieved to not be living with any of them.

Alfred nodded enthusiastically before realizing something odd about the way Arthur was speaking. “Woah dude what? Why are you talking in a British accent?” 

Arthur wasn’t sure if he should be offended by that or not, so he just settled for putting his hands on his waist and scowling. “What are you talking about? I’m just speaking normally!”

“Not for America you’re not! Does everyone in your…uh, clan?...talk like that?”

“Well, no I suppose not. But that doesn’t mean I have an accent! We just all have our own unique way of speaking!” Now that Arthur thought about it, it really didn’t make any sense for all of the different families in his clan to talk differently from one another, but he wasn’t about to admit that to the American.

Just then, Alfred’s stomach rumbled loudly. He put a hand over it, thinking back to when his last meal had been. With some horror, he realized that the last thing he had eaten was the soup he had quickly devoured before rushing to finish his work. That meant he had missed three snack times, dinner, and breakfast. 

“Um, listen, thanks a lot for fixing my head and all and I hate to cut this so short, but I really need to get going…” Alfred bit his lip, hoping he wouldn’t be offending the Naga. It wasn’t that he wanted to leave, but he needed food and if he didn’t get an early start on all of the work he had for classes he would quickly fall behind. Actually, he really wouldn’t have minded staying a few more hours and learning more about Arthur’s species and about Arthur himself. Arthur seemed like he could be a pretty cool…person?...now Alfred had gotten past the initial terror of thinking he was about to die.

Arthur frowned to himself. He didn’t get to ask the American any of his own questions, but aside from that he hadn’t thought through how to get him back out of his home. He had the benefit of the dark last night, but now that it was morning everyone would be awake and out sunning themselves. Simply letting Alfred walk out would cause a mass panic.

“Well, there’s actually a problem with that,” he informed Alfred.

Alfred felt a little worried at that, hoping the snake man hadn’t had a change of heart about not eating him. “Uh, you’re not going to keep me captive, right?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Of course not! It’s just that…well, my clan is rather wary of humans,” Arthur explained. "Actually, you really aren’t supposed to be here and I could be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out I brought you here.” Instead of looking anxious or ashamed, Arthur held his head higher as if he were proud of this fact. 

“Sooo…are you saying I can’t leave?” Alfred asked hesitantly, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.

“No, don’t worry. I’ll think of something.” With that, Arthur turned away from Alfred and slithered to the entrance of his den. He pushed aside the woven mat and peeked his head out, looking in all directions to see if the coast was clear. “Wait here,” he said to Alfred over his shoulder.

Alfred fidgeted where he sat once Arthur left the den. He wasn’t sure how long he was supposed to wait, and his hunger was really starting to gnaw at him. Looking around the cave, he figured he may as well explore it a little and learn more about how the Naga species lived. 

The first thing he did was inspect the nest he had returned to sitting on. It was about six feet in diameter, leaving Arthur plenty of room to curl up on the soft straw and leaves. It was exceptionally well-formed with a nice, flat bottom and curved sides that sloped upward. Alfred marveled at Arthur’s ability to form something so perfectly symmetrical. 

Next, he went to go rummage through the various contents of the shelving unit he had spotted earlier. Most of it was stuff whose identity he neither had the ability nor the care to name, such as bottles of liquids consisting of dozens of texture and color combinations. He also found a few books, surprised to find that they were fairly popular novels he had seen some of his more bookish friends reading. How did Arthur get those if he wasn’t supposed to leave his area? Setting aside his findings, he stooped to open one of the drawers below the shelves. He was supremely disturbed to find that it contained a lot of bones from small animals such as squirrels and an occasional rabbit, if his knowledge from class was anything to go by. 

Quickly shutting the drawer so he didn’t have to look at the contents any longer, he looked around the cave once more. There really wasn’t anything else to look at, making Alfred wonder if all Naga dens were this sparse. Out of things to inspect, Alfred resigned himself to sitting on the nest until Arthur returned, hopefully with a way for Alfred to leave. A few minutes later Arthur came back with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Alright, let’s go, but we need to hurry.”

Curious, Alfred stood up and walked to the entrance of the den. “What did you do?”

“Oh, let’s just say I scared a certain frog, which has caused quite the diversion,” Arthur smirked. 

Alfred wondered why Arthur was going around frightening frogs, but he didn’t question it, choosing instead to follow behind as Arthur slithered away from the den and down a clearly marked path in the woods. Now that Alfred was out, he was able to see what appeared to be a kind of village. There were caves jutting out of the ground with similar mats to Arthur’s hanging from the entrances. On the ground leading away in many different directions were several paths, marked by the way they were slightly sunken into the ground. Alfred noticed that Arthur’s body fit in them perfectly as he glided along. 

“How has nobody ever noticed this area?” Alfred inquired.

“The magic hides this place from humans. You can only see it because I brought you here,” Arthur explained as they went. “And it works so that now you have seen it, you will always see it when you walk this way.”

“Uh…did you say magic?” Alfred frowned. He had always had beliefs rooted in science and he wasn’t sure if he was able to buy the explanation. Then again, he couldn’t exactly explain Arthur’s existence to begin with, so maybe it wasn’t that far-fetched.

“Oh yes, our magic can be quite powerful,” Arthur said, glancing back at Alfred. They were almost at the borderline by now and Arthur was feeling relieved that nobody had gotten bored enough with Francis’s antics yet to wander back in their direction, but he was almost disappointed that Alfred had to leave so soon. He was dreadfully unintelligent and rather loud, but he was the first human Arthur had ever been able to talk to.

They made awkward small talk about the weather and newly arrived spring until they arrived at their destination. Arthur stopped his movements and sat up, looking back at Alfred and gesturing in front of him.

“This is as far as I can take you. I’ve broken enough rules recently as it is.”

Alfred looked out into the woods in front of him, suddenly remembering a very important problem. “Yeah about that…you see, the whole reason I was so far away from where most people walk is that I was kind of lost,” Alfred said with a sheepish grin.

Arthur thought privately that he really should have expected that. “Just follow along in a straight line and you’ll eventually come to a rock formation that looks like a triangle. Make a right and you’ll eventually get to the path I have seen humans use.”

Alfred nodded and flashed a thumbs up. “Thanks dude! You really helped me out.” Alfred almost turned and walked away, but instead stopped and took a moment to consider the Naga. “Hey, um, will I see you again? We didn’t get to talk much and I’d love to ask you more questions.”

Arthur was pleasantly surprised at this. He had assumed Alfred would want to get on with his life, but he should have known better since he had noticed that humans were a curious species from his occasional observations. “Well, I-I suppose if you wanted to meet again, we could…” Here he paused like he was waiting for Alfred to deny that he would want to come back. 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not every day that you meet a new species that you can have an intelligent conversation with!”

Arthur wasn’t sure if he would even begin to consider the conversation that had taken place “intelligent”, but nevertheless he wanted to see the American again too, if only to get more information on humans. Maybe he could even gather proof that his kind didn’t need to fear them and he wouldn’t be stuck in his enclosed area all the time. “Alright, but we won’t be able to meet here again; at least not for some time. It’s just too much of a risk.”

“’Kay, well how about we meet at that triangular rock formation you mentioned? I have tons of work to do, but I should be able to slip away tomorrow afternoon. That sound okay   
to you?” Alfred looked so genuine with the proposition that Arthur couldn’t help but let loose a small smile (very miniscule, mind you). 

“That sounds perfect. Oh, and one more thing…” Arthur began looking apprehensive. “Promise to not tell anyone about this? I don’t think you have harmful intentions, but if word got out about my species and more people came here, I don’t think anyone here would react very well.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. If people ask where I was I’ll just tell them a version of the story that edits you out.” 

Arthur felt relieved at this. Even though he wasn’t afraid of the humans, he knew that the rest of his clan was and might do something drastic if more humans came to start investigating. “Thank you. See you tomorrow, Alfred.” And with that, Alfred said his goodbyes and set off in the direction Arthur had pointed toward, giving him an enthusiastic wave.

Arthur watched until Alfred’s form was well out of sight before turning back down the path. He was hoping to escape back into his den without being confronted, but by now everyone was sure to be back from seeing Francis panicking about the zits Arthur had told him he had. It wasn’t true, of course, but nothing beat seeing that frog’s dismayed expression. Chuckling to himself, Arthur tried to ignore the feelings of excitement about seeing a certain blue-eyed human again the next day.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

By the time Alfred reached his dorm, it was late in the morning and Alfred was swearing to himself that he would never lend his car to anyone ever again. Preparing himself for the verbal (and quite possible physical) abuse he was about to endure, Alfred swung open the door to the room he shared with Matthew. 

“Hello Alfred.”

Alfred jolted where he stood, but mustered a bright grin that he directed at his brother, trying to appear nonchalant. “Hey Mattie! ‘Sup?”

Matthew visibly twitched. “’Sup?! Don’t you ‘sup me Alfred F. Jones! I have been worried sick about you! Where the hell have you been?!”

Alfred cringed. Even though he had long ago become accustomed to Matthew’s occasional outbursts (which were most often directed at him), they could still be scary as fuck.

“I thought you had died! Gilbert returned your car late last night and when you weren’t back yet what was I supposed to think?”

Alfred knew that when Matthew got into a ranting mindset, it was best to just wait it out, so he kept quiet in case Matthew wasn’t quite finished. 

“Well?! Don’t just stand there like a lump!” Matthew yelled and began approaching Alfred. 

“I’m sorry! I had to take the woods shortcut back because Gilbert needed my car and I wanted to be his hero and then I got lost and there were creepy noises so I ran and fell and hit my head! Then I woke up this morning and found my way back…” Alfred said all in a rush. 

Matthew narrowed his eyes. “That is the worst cover story I have ever heard. You don’t even look injured…” Suddenly, an expression of realization came over his face. “Oh my god! You got laid, didn’t you?”

“What?! NO! I-I mean, not that I totally couldn’t, if I wanted to…but no! I really did fall and hit my head, but I guess it just wasn’t very bad and that’s why it doesn’t look like anything…” Alfred blushed and internally prayed for Matthew to just accept the story and move on.

Matthew heaved a sigh before backing down and retreating to his desk in the corner of their dorm room. Their beds were bunked so that they had more space on the opposite wall for studying. “Alright, I’m sorry for yelling at you. Are you sure you’re okay then? If you hit it hard enough to knock you out for the night then there could be some lingering effects,” Matthew reasoned. 

“Nah, I’m good. Arth-uh…” Alfred realized he had been about to mention Arthur and Matthew glanced at him suspiciously over his shoulder. “That is…this dude on campus…saw me on my way here and I asked because I know he’s a premed major and he said I’m fine,” Alfred covered. He hated having to lie to his twin, but he didn’t really have a choice this time. A promise was a promise and even though he had just met him, Alfred didn’t want to disappoint Arthur.

Matthew nodded in acceptance of Alfred’s answer and busied himself in his schoolwork now that he had been assured of Alfred’s well-being. Sighing, Alfred moved his still-sore muscles down to the hall bathroom and took a long, hot shower before settling in to do his own work. He would need to get some extra done if he was to spare a few hours to meet with Arthur tomorrow, and that was not something he wanted to miss.


	3. Chapter 3

When Alfred woke up the Sunday morning after he had met Arthur for the first time, his first thought was that he was up way too early for a Sunday. It was only 9 a.m. when he opened his eyes blearily, attempting to blink away the strange dreams about vicious, fanged creatures chasing him through the wilderness. Raising his head off his pillow to look around his room, he found his brother already gone for the day. Must’ve woken me up on his way out, Alfred thought. He didn’t know how his brother consistently woke up at this time on weekends, but Alfred definitely preferred sleeping in until at least noon. Today, however, he couldn’t bring himself to fall back asleep. For one thing, Matthew had opened the blinds and sunlight was now pouring directly onto Alfred. The other thing was that suddenly and without warning, the previous day’s events rushed back into his mind. 

Alfred rubbed his eyes and stretched, wondering if everything that had happened had actually been some kind of dream. That was really the more logical explanation. After all, he was just an ordinary biology student with an overactive imagination. Alfred knew that he had a tendency to dream up complex scenarios in which he could rush in and be the hero. Although, that wouldn’t really fit with what he thought had happened yesterday, as hitting your head and being tended to by a strange creature didn’t exactly count as being heroic. 

Deciding to put it out of his mind for now, Alfred got out of bed reluctantly and went to the bathroom to relieve himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep and his familiar hunger pangs were demanding he go walk to his dorm’s dining hall and grab something to eat before any further activity. 

When he got to the dining hall, he spotted Matthew, Gilbert, and Kiku sitting at a table in a corner. Matthew was looking flustered, Gilbert was shouting and flailing his arms in a barbaric manner, and Kiku was sitting quietly and appearing a bit uncomfortable. Alfred grabbed a heaping portion of pancakes and bacon from the serving line and rushed over.

“Hey guys!” Alfred greeted sunnily. Gilbert stopped whatever he was saying mid-gesture and looked over at Alfred before balling up his napkin and throwing it directly in Alfred’s face.

“You little fuck! Matthew gave me some bullshit of a story this morning as to why you didn’t come back last night. You really worried the hell out of him; so not awesome.”

Alfred sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with the hand not holding onto his food and gave an apologetic smile. “Heh….yeah, I know. But it’s true! I really did get lost and hit my head.”

Gilbert merely rolled his eyes and gestured for Alfred to take the unoccupied seat at the table, which Alfred did gratefully before beginning to plow into his plate. “Oh I’m sure you were telling the truth. There’s no way your asexual self was getting laid,” Gilbert remarked casually. Alfred’s sexuality had been a running joke throughout their friend group since they had hit puberty. Alfred himself wasn’t exactly sure what he was, but he did know that there just hadn’t been anyone that had caught his eye yet. 

Sticking his tongue out at Gilbert, Alfred continued to shovel pancake into his mouth. After getting back last night, he had consumed half a package of Oreo’s before falling asleep, but since he hadn’t eaten much the day before he was positively famished this morning. Attempting to tune out the sounds of Gilbert harassing Matthew, it took Alfred a few minutes to realize that Kiku was watching him with curious eyes. Looking up from his food, he raised his eyebrows at his friend. _What’s up?_

Kiku appeared to hesitate before deciding to vocalize what was on his mind. “Alfred, Matthew said you mentioned that a premed major examined your head?”

Alfred froze for a moment, wondering if Kiku had guessed that he was leaving something out of his story. “Uh, yeah?”

Kiku hummed and nodded, glancing down at his bowl of rice before looking back up and giving Alfred a smile far too knowing for Alfred’s liking. “You should go and thank him today for helping you out. He was very kind to take care of you.”

Alfred bit his lip. Kiku had always been the most perceptive of his friends. His thoughts flickered quickly to Arthur and he couldn’t help but raise a hand to the spot on his head where he still a little sore. Now that he was more awake, he realized that someone had to have fixed him up. Maybe Arthur really was real and not just a dream?

“Yeah…I guess it was pretty nice of him. You’re right, Kiku!” Alfred said with an enthusiastic grin. Dreaming or not, he needed to find out if what he remembered from yesterday had really happened. What kind of future biologist would he be otherwise?

Kiku gave a secretive smile and went back to his rice. The rest of breakfast was passed through occasional chatter, argument, and a brief competition between Gilbert and Alfred to see who could hold the most orange juice in their mouths and still be able to make a funny face. Alfred won, but seconds after his victory he attempted to cheer and wound up spitting his juice all over a very angry Matthew. 

When Alfred was finally finished listening to the inevitable lecture from his brother and jeers from Gilbert, he retreated into his room to complete a couple more assignments since he recollected that he had agreed to meet with Arthur sometime this afternoon, but never specified a time. 

_Oh well, I guess I’ll just start heading over there around noon…_ Glancing briefly at his clock, Alfred saw that he still had a couple more hours to kill, which he gladly did by burying himself in his schoolwork. He had a reputation to maintain, after all. 

By the time noon rolled around, Alfred was starting to get a little nervous. He really hoped he hadn’t just dreamed up something as fascinating as Arthur, but he couldn’t deny that that was more likely. Leaving a note for Matthew in case he came back and wondered where his twin had gotten to, Alfred automatically reached for his car keys before realizing that he would have to walk to where he was going. Although he wasn’t thrilled about this, it was one of those days out where you can tell spring is just about to fully arrive and the air is really fresh with newness. As Alfred began his trek through the forest and attempted to remember where that triangular rock formation had been exactly, he couldn’t help but admire the budding foliage around him. 

Alfred thought he had been walking for longer than he should have been, but after turning around a couple of times and changing direction, he eventually came across the rocks jutting out of the earth. At least he hadn’t dreamed up that much. Although he was really disappointed to see that there was no Naga waiting for him when he got there, he reasoned that there was still a chance he would show up since Alfred had been vague about the meeting time. While he waited, he let his mind drift to various things. He thought briefly of his classes and his work, but quickly dismissed it, not wanting to stress himself out on such a nice day. He thought about this morning at breakfast and the strange smile Kiku had given him, wondering what it had meant. Mostly, he thought about how much he hoped he had not been dreaming and that he would really be able to get to know an incredibly fascinating creature.

Alfred wasn’t sure, but it felt like nearly an hour had gone by before he finally heard faint rustling sounds that seemed to be getting steadily closer. Turning in the direction of the noise, he could just make out movement several yards away, but it was too hidden by trees to get a proper view of.

Alfred let out a breath of joy, relief, and incredulity all mixed together when Arthur slithered out from the trees and into the clearing containing the triangular rock. He hadn’t realized how badly he was hoping for yesterday to have been real, but now that Arthur was here and so very not a dream, Alfred wanted to jump onto the rock and dance in delight. Noting Arthur’s wary expression, however, he decided that probably wasn’t the best idea.

Instead, he waved at the Naga and gave his best grin. “Hey! Man am I glad to see you! I really thought for a while that yesterday had been some kind of lucid dreaming…”

Arthur raised his eyebrows and displayed an unimpressed expression. “I highly doubt you are the type creative enough to imagine something like this,” he said coolly. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if he should be distant from Alfred. The human seemed to have a kind of natural charisma to him and Arthur was unwilling to be drawn in. He had come here solely to learn about humans and he was not going to deviate from that path.

The insult went right over Alfred’s head, however, as he began to laugh. “Aw, man you’re right! How could you tell?”

Arthur looked at Alfred incredulously before shaking his head and wondering if all humans had this boy’s lack of comprehension for the intention behind words. “Just a lucky guess, I suppose.”

Alfred couldn’t help but observe Arthur as he was speaking. While the unexplainable British accent was strange, it somehow suited him. Arthur had mentioned that all the families of his clan spoke with different accents, which was odd but cool. Leaning against the rock formation behind him, Alfred crossed his arms over his chest and ran his eyes over Arthur’s torso and powerful tail, mentally making observations pertaining to the anatomy and structure, paying special attention to the curiously pointed ears and unnaturally green eyes. Did all Naga have oversized eyebrows?

Arthur flustered under Alfred’s sudden scrutiny, unsure of the reasons behind it. “Git, why are you staring at me like that?”

Realizing that his staring may have come across as creepy, Alfred started and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry! It’s just that I’m a biology student, so I was making observations from a scientific standpoint. I won’t stare at you like that again,” he said. 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Arthur frowned. “What do you mean you’re a student? Making observations?”

“Oh, uh, do you not have schools in your clan? You know, where you can go to get educated and stuff?” Alfred was slightly surprised to hear this considering the humanlike intelligence of the Naga, but he supposed that it would make sense if there wasn’t a large population.

“Educated? No, our parents teach us everything we need to know,” Arthur said, slithering up to the rock and perching himself on it in order to soak up some of the sun’s rays. 

“Although, I suppose they don’t teach us everything. Apparently there are some things even our elders don’t know, like the fact that humans aren’t dangerous,” Arthur mused, glancing towards Alfred, who had climbed up onto the rock to sit next to Arthur.

Alfred grinned at Arthur, pleased that the Naga seemed to trust him. Although, Alfred had been the one cowering in terror just yesterday morning, but that was irrelevant. “Well, I don’t know if you can say all humans aren’t dangerous,” Alfred warned. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to hurt you or your kind, but I know some people who would kill to have you locked up and experimented on.”

Arthur shrugged this off. He wasn’t particularly worried, as he had never seen a human do anything malicious, and even if one found out about him, Arthur figured that his muscular tail and sharp fangs could deter them well enough. 

“But anyway, for humans we have this whole school system we have to go to in order to learn. Prepare us for our lives and all that.” Alfred stopped and considered what he had seen of Arthur’s home yesterday. “I guess our lives are more complicated than yours. We need to learn a specialty in order to work and make money and stuff and that’s how we survive.”

“Yes, I’ve heard passerby discussing such things as ‘money’ before, complaining about a lack of it and whatnot.” Arthur frowned and looked around at the clearing they were settled in, noting the wild blackberry bush a few feet away and listening to the chirping of birds, both of which would make perfect sources of food. He wondered why he had never seen humans take advantage of this. “All you need to survive is a good shelter and a source of nourishment. Why do humans complicate their lives for themselves?”

Alfred shrugged. He had occasionally wondered the same thing for himself, but he couldn’t ever come up with a good reason. “I don’t know. It’s just what we’ve always done. I mean way back in the Stone Age and stuff we started out trying to make things easier for ourselves with tools and it just gradually evolved into civilization.”

“Civilization,” Arthur said slowly, as if testing how the word felt on his tongue. “I like it. It may make things more complicated for you, but it seems so interesting. All I’ve ever known is hunting within this area and dealing with the annoying members of my clan. That is the Naga lifestyle. In comparison, human life seems so rich!”

Alfred glanced over at the Naga in surprise. He was gazing longingly at the sky above them and Alfred wondered for the first time what it would be like to have lived a life like Arthur’s. “Yeah, I guess. I never really thought about it that way before.” And Alfred hadn’t. He had always sort of seen the actions of humans as rather petty. He thought back to the way Matthew had rolled his eyes at Alfred and Gilbert’s childishness from that morning. He supposed that he took things like that for granted and wondered if Arthur had ever been able to do things simply for the sake of doing them instead of trying to survive. 

They sat in quiet companionship for a few moments, both lost in thoughts of how different the other’s life was. Alfred marveled briefly at how quickly they were able to be in a comfortable silence around the other, but he dismissed it as his own heroic nature. Arthur, however, furrowed his brow, remembering that his mission had been to come here and learn, not socialize with the human boy.

“Tell me more about the way you live,” he demanded, angry for letting himself get carried away by the moment.

Alfred glanced over to see Arthur glaring at him slightly and crinkled his nose in confusion. “Uhm…what do you want to know?”

Arthur thought for a moment. Although he had seen humans passing by several times, he really didn’t know what he didn’t know about the way they lived. He glanced over Alfred looking for clues and decided to settle for what he could see clearly.

“What about these?” he inquired, pointing accusingly at Alfred’s legs. “Why do you have those things?”

Alfred looked down at where Arthur was pointing and let out a booming laugh. “Ya mean my legs? I dunno, dude, we just developed them so that we could walk.” Removing his shoes and socks, Alfred held out his leg so that Arthur could examine it. Arthur hesitated before reaching out and taking one of the toes in between his fingers and wiggling it, looking up in surprise when Alfred began to giggle. “Sorry, sorry, it just tickles when my feet are touched.” 

Arthur frowned and released the foot, still not understanding. “Why do you have to move with these, though? I can move just fine the way I am, and there are plenty of creatures that move in other ways.”

Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how he could explain it to Arthur without going into detail about biological structure and development. “Well, humans have them because of what we evolved from. It’s just the way it worked out. I can’t really explain your case though…I mean, I don’t even know how you exist.”

“Do you mean to say you know how humans were made?” Arthur’s eyes widened in surprise. Alfred has asked him about the creation of Naga’s yesterday, so he had assumed that Alfred didn’t know his own history.

“Well, there is a lot of debate over that, but generally scientists think we evolved from other creatures,” Alfred responded.

“What is this…’evolve’?” Arthur wondered, never having heard such a word before.

Alfred beamed happily, grateful for an opportunity to explain one of his favorite subjects. “Well basically it’s like a change over time in a species. Eventually a species changes so much that it has made an entirely new species and that’s how a lot of scientists think all diversity was created on the planet. You’ve really never heard of that? I mean, don’t you wonder where you came from?”

“I told you yesterday, of course I wonder, but when even the eldest members of the clan cannot provide answers you don’t have much option but to let the issue drop.”

“Hmm, I guess so.” Alfred could see where Arthur was coming from, but his scientific mind rejected such a way of thinking. “Hey, what about you? What’s with your pointy ears and random scales on your arms?”

Arthur looked down at his arms in mild surprise before turning to the bare arms of the human. “We need our ears to be pointed in order to pick up specific directions that sounds are coming from,” he said as if it should have been obvious. “Can’t you do that? And the scales are good for hiding ourselves from potential prey, of course. They blend in with our surroundings so we can sneak up on things. How do you get by without them?”

Alfred raised his brow, impressed with the capabilities of the Naga. Advanced hearing like that sounded pretty cool! “Naw, I mean we can tell what general direction sounds are coming from but it’s nothing special. And why would I need camouflage? The only thing I need to sneak up on is the last hamburger in the dining hall!” 

Upon Arthur’s confused look, Alfred was horrified to learn that he not only had no clue what a hamburger was, but he also had never had food served to him. This prompted a rather long-winded and excited explanation on Alfred’s part and much wonder on the ease of human life on Arthur’s part. After that, there was a fierce discussion on whether or not Alfred’s diet was as healthy as Alfred was claiming it to be (“No, really! Humans need a lot of sugar and fat! It’s like, essential or something!”), followed by more detailed explanations on social structure of both the Naga and human lifestyle. 

Before either of them knew it, nearly two hours had passed. Alfred had been in the middle of getting a closer look at Arthur’s scales when he was nearly startled off his perch on the rock by the sound of his phone (charged this time, thankfully) playing Owl City’s “Honey and the Bee”, which meant that he was receiving a text message.

“What on earth is that?” Arthur wondered, staring at the phone and curling into a defensive posture against the strange sounds coming from the device.

“Ah, sorry! It’s just my phone,” Alfred said as he pulled it out of his pocket. “Oh, hang on. My bro just texted me.”

Matthew Williams _1m ago_  
 **Al are you okay? You’ve been on that walk for a long time. You didn’t get lost again, did you?**

Alfred chuckled at his twin’s mother hen tendencies before checking the time. Noting it was already almost 4 pm, he suppose he did have a point. Alfred sighed and sent a quick reply to let Matthew know that no, he was not lost and that he would be back soon. Arthur watched him curiously. Alfred’s nonchalance let him know that he shouldn’t be concerned about his safety, and he had seen a cell phone briefly before with other humans, but seeing it used up close was something else entirely and he hadn’t ever heard anything like the sounds it had made before Alfred had pressed some buttons.

“Hey, um, that was my brother wondering where I am,” Alfred said, playing with the hem of his shirt and feeling a pang of sadness that he had to go. “Anyway, this is called a phone,” he explained. “We use it to communicate and stuff.”

Arthur nodded, already having guessed that much from seeing previous humans. “Yes, but what were those sounds?”

Alfred’s mouth gaped in shock. “You mean the music? Oh don’t tell me you don’t have music!” Arthur shook his head uncertainly, concerned that Alfred was about to keel over from the very thought.

“We have music, but it doesn’t sound anything like that did.”

“Aw man, I should’ve known our music would be nothing like yours,” Alfred said thoughtfully before sighing. “I need to be heading back to my dorm now.”

Arthur tried to hide his disappointment, knowing that he himself needed to be getting back or his brothers would become suspicious of where he had gone off to. “Yes, I do suppose I must get going as well.”

Alfred grinned as he hopped off the rock formation, pausing to stretch out his sore limbs. “Hey, thanks for meeting here with me again. I’ve really enjoyed talking to you!”

Arthur blushed, unused to receiving compliments. “Well, I suppose you aren’t the worst company I’ve ever had…”

Alfred’s laugh was loud and gleeful, running off into the trees and bouncing in Arthur’s ears. “Thanks! Look, I have a pretty busy schedule with school and stuff, but I don’t have any afternoon classes on Wednesday. Wanna meet back up here again around the same time?”

Arthur’s eyes snapped to the young face before him, scrutinizing for any hints of sarcasm or joking. Finding none, he suspiciously asked “You’d really want to?”

“Hell yeah! You’re really fascinating and you have a funny personality. I want to be friends with you! And you better believe that I’m going to bring a collection of human music. You’ll love it!” he exclaimed. Arthur merely shook his head. He didn’t quite share the American’s enthusiasm, but he was excited to learn more about human culture nonetheless.  
Knowing that he had to go for real now, Alfred stuck out his hand. When Arthur merely eyed it in confusion, he grabbed the Naga’s hand and shook it in his own, explaining that it was called a handshake and that humans did it as a greeting or parting gesture.

“Alright, I suppose it would be easy enough so sneak off again on Wednesday. I’ll see you then,” Arthur said as he lowered himself back onto the ground. 

“Awesome! Bye Arthur,” Alfred yelled happily before hurrying away to get to his dorm on time for dinner. Arthur watched him go, not bothering to hide the content smile that appeared on his face at the prospect of having an actual friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm sorry if the formatting ever has any errors. I'm doing my best the chapters of this story I already have and in order for me to not take an entire year, I'm just kinda breezing through the formatting.

Arthur truly hated his brothers. After sneaking back onto his clan’s territory once he had left Alfred on Sunday, he went straight to his den and groaned unhappily upon finding his two most annoying brothers there waiting there for him to make his life miserable. 

“Oi baby brother!” his oldest brother Alasdair obnoxiously greeted. Arthur gave a terse nod and moved into the room while mentally preparing himself for whatever ridicule the two were going to unload on him today.

“Where’ve you been off to Artiekins?” Seamus taunted. Arthur could practically feel a blood vessel popping in his forehead from his distaste at the name. 

“That’s none of either of your business,” he stated coolly. Usually if he just went along with the teasing and answered the questions, the torment session would be over sooner, but Arthur was in no mood to cooperate with them today. He was sick of being treated terribly by his own kin and all he really wanted to do at that moment was take a nice nap.

The brothers hooted and hollered at Arthur’s response and slithered closer in order to surround him. “I’d bet five squirrels that you weren’t off meeting with a mate,” Alasdair challenged. 

_So that’s what they are going to go after me for today,_ Arthur thought with dismay. His brothers had a range of topics they liked to tease Arthur for, such as his appearance, lack of friends, and grumpy disposition, but his lack of a mate was definitely their favorite. In Naga culture, most began to find their mates in their late teen years, so Arthur, at 23, was definitely pushing the limits.

“And what if I wasn’t? As I said already, that’s none of either of your business.”

“No wonder you don’t have a mate yet with that attitude,” Alasdair commented. Feeling his blood begin to boil, Arthur did his best to pretend like he wasn’t bothered.

“If that’s the logic we are going to use, then it’s a wonder you two have mates,” Arthur spat.

Seamus raised his hands in what he thought was a peaceable gesture. “Don’t be like that! We’re just worried about our little brother. We want you to be happy and make lots of babies!” he teased.

“Like hell you want me to be happy,” Arthur muttered.

Seamus snickered and nudged Alasdair, leaning over to whisper just loud enough for Arthur to hear. “Hey, how much you wanna bet Artiekins’ll die a virgin?”

“Enough!” Arthur shouted angrily. “If this is the only thing you came to say, then I would very much appreciate it if the both of you would just leave!”

Now both Seamus and Alasdair were smirking triumphantly. They didn’t actually care that Arthur was mateless, they just loved to use it as an excuse to rile him up. Unfortunately, Arthur’s rather short temper allowed it to work fairly easily.

“C’mon Seamus, Artiekins needs some time alone to brood and absorb how empty his den is and always will be,” Alasdair gleefully said. Seamus gave a short nod and the two of them gave him a “playful” cuff to the side of his head before mercifully leaving the den, allowing Arthur to be alone. 

He sighed deeply, still breathing a little heavily from getting worked up. He knew his brothers were right; he was getting a little too old to still be without a mate. Not that he cared; he was living his life just fine by himself and he had found from experience that having people in life only causes more problems and creates unnecessary complications. 

That night, Arthur curled up by himself in his nest for what had to be the five thousandth time. He had always been fine with just the warmth his own construction provided to him, but for the first time, he thought it seemed like there might be something missing after all. He didn’t bother trying to pursue what exactly that might be and he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know, but right before he fell asleep he wondered if maybe Alfred was all alone too. 

The next couple of days passed just like all the other days Arthur had spent in his lifetime. He would wake up early when the sun started to come out, soak up some of the morning rays of light on his favorite rock, and then set out to capture himself a lunch in the nearby woods. In the afternoons, he would maybe take a nap on his rock or in his den and try avoiding his regular tormentors (a.k.a. his brothers and sometimes Francis) as much as possible. To his extreme relief, he was successful at this on Monday and Tuesday. At night he would reread one of the few books he had laying around or join one of the clan meetings. He had been satisfied with this way of life for the entirety of his 23 years.   
Sure, in the recent years since he had been studying humans, he had wondered what his life could be like if he had been born as something different, but for the most part, he just went along with the restraints of his life in the clan. After talking to Alfred, however, he wondered how he had been able to go this long without losing his mind. Alfred was able to live so freely and go wherever he wanted and do so many extraordinary things for no reason other than to just do them. To Arthur, it was certainly something to envy.

By Wednesday, Arthur was more than ready to sneak out of the clan’s boundaries again. He had to deal with Francis’ flaunting all morning and he was sure that if he had to spend one more day with his clan he would end up committing murder. Just as he was leaving his den to head out and meet Alfred at their triangular rock, the worst sight imaginable descended upon him.

“Hey little bro! Where ya going?” Alasdair greeted as he slithered up with both Francis and Seamus in his company.

“I do not need this right now,” Arthur groaned. Seamus frowned and came up right next to Arthur, drawing up to his full height to appear intimidating.

“You should be happy to see us. After all, we’re family and Francis here is just about the only friend you have,” he bit out. 

Arthur frowned. “That perverted wanker is hardly a friend,” he corrected. 

Francis merely snickered. “So you admit that you have no friends then, non?” He exchanged amused glances with the other two brothers, happy to have selected something to tease Arthur about for today’s session. Arthur fumed, but he supposed that he should have been expecting them to come around today since the last two days had been so blissfully free of the taunting.

“That’s not what I’m saying! In fact, I just recently made a new friend,” Arthur said haughtily, thinking of Alfred. He knew it probably wasn’t a great idea to mention the human, but he so desperately wanted to prove the other three Naga wrong. 

Francis, Seamus, and Alasdair collectively raised their eyebrows. “Oh really? And who might that be?” Alasdair inquired. Arthur stayed silent, unwilling to reveal anything further. When they received no response, the other three laughed, assuming Arthur had been lying.

“Oh, when he said ‘friend’ he must have meant one of his special invisible friends,” Seamus sneered. 

“Aye, it’s too bad his invisible friend can’t fuck him,” Alasdair said with an evil glint in his bright green eyes. Seamus and Alasdair shared a boisterous, obnoxious laugh while Arthur tried to push his way past them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Francis wasn’t laughing and was frowning lightly in disapproval at the last comment. Although Francis often partook in the teasing ritual, he was the only one that knew where to draw the line.

Noticing that Arthur was attempting to escape, Seamus and Alasdair immediately moved together to block the path. 

“You never answered our question, Artiekins. Where ya going?” Seamus queried. Arthur, having nearly reached his tolerance, tried again to move past his brothers but only succeeded in getting pushed roughly back. 

“I’m just going hunting,” Arthur defended. 

“Oh? Is that right? Maybe you can get the rabbits to be your friend little brother,” Alasdair remarked. 

“Yeah! That would work out well, actually. Maybe he could even get one to mate with him since we all know nobody else will ever want to,” Seamus added. Francis started to look more conflicted upon seeing the hurt expression on Arthur’s face. 

“Just fuck off, will you?” Arthur squawked. He pulled back his fist in preparation to punch one of his two brother’s in the face, but Francis quickly moved forward and grabbed his arm before he could carry out the action.

“I think that is enough, oui? We have our own mates to look after,” he stated firmly, giving a fixed look at Alasdair and Seamus. Glaring heavily at Francis for stopping him, Arthur jerked his arm away and slinked down the path, leaving Francis to deal with his two brothers. The last thing he heard before getting out of earshot was Alasdair’s cry of “Aw way to ruin our fun! Now he’s off to be a pathetic loser by himself!” 

Arthur managed to pull a stiff upper lip until he was out of the clan’s boundaries and to the triangular rock formation, but when he found that Alfred hadn’t yet arrived, he allowed himself to hide his face in his arms and cry.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Waiting three days for Wednesday to come was much harder than Alfred expected it to be. He had had a short attention span his entire life and had always had some concentration issues in class, but now he couldn’t focus on anything for more than about 30 seconds before his mind wandered off without his permission. More often than not, it would wander towards a certain green-eyed blond that he was meeting again on Wednesday. 

Monday wasn’t absolutely horrible. Alfred was able to occupy himself by building an “Arthur” playlist on his Spotify account and adding a cross-section of music from every genre and decade he could think of. Once satisfied with the quantity and quality, he attempted to immerse himself in the numerous assignments he had for classes. When that didn’t work, he tried distracting himself with video games. Kiku had recommended him a horror game called Daylight and he was eager to try it out and prove that he was absolutely not a wimp. He was doing well for the first five minutes, but the atmosphere proved to be too creepy for him and he shut down the game, proclaiming that “he didn’t have the patience for wandering around like that anyway.”

After he had been thoroughly traumatized, he immediately sought out human companionship in case his friends needed protecting from creepy shadow monsters. They took his whimpering in stride and had learned by now to go along with his excuses. After sitting with the group for about half an hour, Alfred’s fear addled mind began to calm down and wander back to Arthur. 

Since talking to him about the differences in their lives, nearly every mundane human interaction was making him think of the Naga. He amused himself by imagining how Arthur would react to television and cars and made a mental note to play some YouTube videos on Wednesday afternoon. When he was making coffee, he pondered if Arthur had ever had anything to drink besides water. When he went to the school café, he pictured Arthur’s astounded expression upon learning that Alfred had never had to hunt for food and could just exchange some special paper for it. 

I wonder what he’s doing right now? Alfred could easily visualize him lounging around on some rock near his den or slinking around the trees in pursuit of a squirrel. When Gilbert called him out on not listening to the conversation, Alfred blushed and had to come up with an excuse for zoning out.

“Uh…I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Really? But you went to bed early,” Matthew commented, shooting his brother a surprised glance. Alfred had merely glared and steered the discussion away from himself.

On Tuesday, he began to seriously consider why he was acting the way he was. He could recognize that he was anxious and excited for seeing Arthur again, but he couldn’t figure out why. Arthur was fun to talk to and very entertaining, but he had never been this excited to see someone before. Chalking it up to the novelty of Arthur’s species, Alfred put it out of his mind and attempted to focus on his lecture. 

Tuesday afternoon Alfred had to do an advanced lab for biology involving the observation of microbes under high-power microscopes. The “micro” part of biology was Alfred’s least favorite, so he quickly got bored and his sweet lab partner from Liechtenstein had to do most of the work. She was understanding towards him, but he still felt really guilty that he was being too spacey to be of any help. At dinner on Tuesday, his friends were starting to get suspicious. He mentally cursed the fact that they all spent so much time together, allowing them to quickly notice that he wasn’t acting like his usual self. While Ivan was creeping out Toris and Gilbert was flirting with Elizaveta, Matthew and Kiku were trying to conduct an intervention with Alfred.

“Al you haven’t paid any attention to anything in the last two days. We know that isn’t like you, what’s on your mind?” Matthew inquired, munching on his maple burger. Alfred bit his lip and considered just telling them a half-truth; that he had met a new friend and he was excited to meet up with them again. They would probably buy it, since all of them had stuck within their friend group since they were little. A new friend was something to be happy about and it would get them off of his back for now. 

Sighing, he wiped off his mouth with a napkin and took a sip of his soda to indicate that he was about to make an explanation. “I’m just looking forward to meeting up with someone tomorrow and I guess it’s just been distracting me,” he said smoothly, feeling proud of himself for calmly giving a plausible reason.

Matthew and Kiku immediately exchanged glances with raised eyebrows before giving identical knowing smiles at Alfred.

“Good for you, Alfred. How did you meet them?” Kiku wondered. 

“Uh…” Alfred floundered. He couldn’t exactly tell them that Arthur had found him in the middle of the woods while he was unconscious. “I got lost and he helped me find my way.” That was technically true, if Alfred hadn’t been lost he never would have hit his head and then Arthur never would have had to fix him up. 

Matthew rolled his eyes. “You’re always getting lost,” he chided. 

Alfred stuck out his tongue at his twin and responded that it was probably because Matthew had done something weird to him in the womb, effectively rendering him incapable of normal functions.

“You realize that was just an insult to yourself?” Matthew deadpanned. Enjoying the familiar brotherly banter, Alfred allowed himself to laugh with his friends and relish in the next hour of distraction. 

Later that night their dorm room, Matthew was sitting at his desk and Alfred was sitting on the top bunk of their beds listening to music and doing homework. Even though he only had a couple of his classes tomorrow, Alfred wanted to get most of it out of the way so that he could spend more time with Arthur at their rock in the afternoon (and he had decided that it was their rock, not caring if other people before them had been there). While Alfred was just starting a works cited page for his English paper, Matthew remembered something his brother had said at dinner.

“Hey Alfred? Didn’t you mention earlier that you were going to meet up with your new friend tomorrow?” 

Alfred looked up in surprise. He had forgotten that he mentioned that, but he figured he might as well tell Matthew about it now so that nobody would get suspicious when he wasn’t around in the afternoon.

“Uh yeah? We’re going to hang out after I get done with morning classes. Why?”

Matthew shrugged, turning back to his report on Canadian history. “No reason. I was just thinking about bringing up a friend into the room tomorrow, so don’t be alarmed if they are still here when you come back, okay?”

Alfred furrowed his brow, wondering who on earth actually paid attention to his brother enough to become friends with him, but didn’t bother to pursue the matter as he had just remembered the books he saw in Arthur’s den and was wondering if he would be interested in any of Alfred’s science books. Hmm…well he was curious about human history and stuff. I bet he would be into my biology and history textbooks. Satisfied that he would let Arthur look through them tomorrow, Alfred hurriedly finished up his works cited page so he could get some sleep.

“Hey Mattie, can I turn off this music? I’m going to sleep now,” Alfred asked, reaching toward the stereo on the dresser next to the bed. Matthew gave a hum of acceptance, putting away his own work so he could get to bed. 

“It’s unlike you to consistently go to bed so early, Al. Is the apocalypse upon us?” Matthew joked, glancing up at the lump burrowing under the covers on the top bunk.

Alfred barked a laugh, trying to play it off like it wasn’t actually anything too unusual. “Nah, haven’t you noticed the flying pigs all over the place?” Matthew rolled his eyes but didn’t press the issue further, chalking it up to his brother just being a strange person.

Alfred nearly cried the next morning when he saw it was raining. According to the weather channel, it was supposed to stop by early afternoon, but he was unhappy about the slight chance that it would continue into the evening. He had been waiting for three days to meet with Arthur and he had been looking forward to seeing the pleased expression when he saw all of the cool stuff Alfred was planning on showing him. 

He quietly tiptoed around his room, trying not to wake up Matthew. He knew that Matthew didn’t have any morning classes and he knew from a lifetime of living with him that if anyone woke Matthew before he needed to be awake they were highly likely to be hit with the hockey stick Matthew secretly kept underneath his bed. After going to the bathroom and pulling on a t-shirt and some jeans, Alfred trudged dejectedly downstairs to the dining hall to grab a plate of bacon and some hashbrowns. Next to nobody was up at this time on a Wednesday, since almost all students had Wednesday mornings off. Alfred, however, being in the honors science program, had to get up early for comparative physiology and organic chemistry, two of his least favorite classes. 

When he was done eating breakfast, he quickly dashed back up to his room to grab his backpack and car keys before driving over to the academic buildings. Sitting through his two classes was nearly physically painful, but he tried his best to take careful notes and understand what the professors were saying. By the time his organic chemistry class was over, Alfred was practically bouncing in his seat from anxiety. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was only about 11 A.M., so he decided to stop off at the dining hall upon returning to his dorm building and grab a bite to eat before trekking out into the woods. Thankfully, at some point during the morning it had stopped raining.

Alfred rushed upstairs after eating to grab his phone and textbooks, noting that Matthew wasn’t in their shared room. That’s strange, Alfred realized. He hadn’t seen his brother getting any food and he didn’t have any classes right now. “Didn’t Mattie mention something about a friend yesterday?” Shrugging to himself, Alfred put it out of his mind and went downstairs so he could leave.

Just as he was cutting through the dorm common room to get to the exit, he heard someone call out his name. Jolting to a stop and glancing behind him, he saw that it was Ivan. Alfred frowned, wondering what his least favorite friend wanted and what could be so important that he needed to talk to him now and make him run late for meeting with Arthur.

“Privet Alfred. Where are you going?” Ivan inquired with a childish grin on his face. Alfred had always hated that grin; the Russian had been doing it for as long as Alfred had known him and it gave him uncomfortable goosebumps every time. 

“Uh…” Alfred tried to quickly think of an excuse for why he would uncharacteristically be taking a walk out into the woods. His mind immediately landed on his classes, since anyone who knew his biological obsession wouldn’t question it as a motive. “I’m just going out to catalogue some wildlife. It’s for a personal project of mine,” Alfred said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

“Excellent! I, too, have a personal project I would like to work on. I will come with you, da?” Ivan said happily in a manner that suggested there could be no refusal. Alfred mentally cursed himself for forgetting that Ivan was also a biology major who was known for doing things a bit unconventionally. There was no way in hell Alfred would let Ivan go with him. If he found out about Arthur, he would likely want to capture him and use him for creepy experiments.

“Uh, sorry, this is something I really need to be alone for. Besides, I’m going to be out there for a pretty long time, so…” Alfred let himself trail off, hoping Ivan would take the hint. Unfortunately, the other student’s smile merely got wider and his eyes hardened, indicating he had no plans for backing down. 

“That will not be problem. I have to be out there for a long time, too,” Ivan enforced. Alfred was really starting to get nervous now and wondered if Ivan would follow him if he just bolted for the woods.

“Yeah, no, like I said I need to go alone…uh it’s just a personal thing, sorry,” Alfred said weakly. Ivan was just about to open his mouth and reinstate that he would be coming along anyway when Toris suddenly came down the stairs, likely on his way to his own afternoon classes. Alfred thanked every god he could think of when Ivan’s attention was momentarily stolen away from him and diverted to the retreating Lithuanian, allowing Alfred just enough time to slip away unnoticed and jog away from the building towards the woods. See you soon, Arthur!


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Alfred reached the rock, he was worried that he was running very late. He remembered Arthur mentioning something about finding punctuality highly important, so Alfred didn’t want to ruin such a new friendship by being tardy. Cursing Ivan for holding him up and the rain for making the ground wet and slippery and slowing him down, Alfred continued to awkwardly hike through the woods while carrying his textbooks. 

Aside from the random puddles and wet leaves sticking to his shoes and clothing as they fluttered down from the trees, it was a fairly nice day to be outside. The temperature was warm and the air smelled fresh like rain and crispness. Alfred noticed for the second time all year (the first was the last time he had been to see Arthur) that Spring was rapidly advancing. As a second semester sophomore in college in a rigorous honors science program, he didn’t get a whole lot of opportunity to stop and appreciate nature. He felt a pang of envy for Arthur, who got to enjoy the outdoors every day.

As he approached the clearing, he thought he could hear the faint sound of someone crying. Nah, that’s impossible. Who else would be so far out from the trail? Assuming it was just his imagination or the weird way the wind was blowing through the trees, Alfred proceeded to burst into the clearing, shouting to announce his presence. 

“Hey Arthur sorry I’m late!” he greeted, throwing his arms up into the air and beaming a bright smile at the rock where he knew the Naga would be curled up. Expecting Arthur to look up and smile happily at the arrival of his new friend, Alfred was surprised to see Arthur laying his head in his hands for a split second before jolting up at the sound of Alfred’s voice and promptly tumbling off of the rock in alarm. 

“Woah, Arthur!” Alfred’s azure eyes got wide as he dropped his books and rushed over to the other side of the rock to find Arthur on the ground groaning in pain and covering his face. “Dude, are you alright?” he asked frantically. He couldn’t tell if Arthur was injured, but he could see that the Naga’s bare torso had sustained a few scrapes from the fall. 

Arthur carefully raised himself off of the ground, making sure to keep his face turned away from Alfred so the human wouldn’t notice the red-rimmed eyes and tear stains. Falling off of the rock hadn’t actually hurt him at all; he couldn’t care less about a few scrapes. He had attained plenty of those throughout the years from hunting and he could heal fairly quickly. 

“I’m fine,” he said, attempting to wipe off his face and remove the evidence of his crying. 

“Are you sure? That was quite the fall,” Alfred worried, attempting to reach out toward Arthur and turn him for a proper look to assess injuries.

“Yes, I’m sure. Really, you just startled me is all,” Arthur explained, still turned away from Alfred. 

“Here, let me look at you and make sure,” Alfred said, putting his hand on the Naga’s surprisingly smooth and soft shoulders. Arthur jumped in confusion at the contact, unused to being touched for reasons other than to get bullied and shoved. 

Trying more frantically to wipe the tears from his face, Arthur shook his head firmly. “No, I’m fine. Just give me a minute,” he requested, trying to keep his voice steady.

Alfred frowned, noticing for the first time the hoarseness of Arthur voice. “Arthur, are you crying?” Before the smaller man could deny anything, Alfred jumped around him so that he could look Arthur in the face. “Hey, you are! Were you hurt that badly? C’mon, I don’t have anything on me to help with an injury but at least tell me what happened,” he pleaded, grabbing hold of Arthur’s hands and stopping them from covering his grassy eyes. 

Arthur looked up at Alfred’s concerned face, wondering if he should tell him about what had just happened with his brothers. He didn’t want Alfred to think that he couldn’t handle himself, but at the same time, he had never really had a friend before and it would be nice to confide in someone. 

“I’m not injured,” he sighed, thinking back to the hurtful words uttered by his own kin. “I just hate them so much!”

Alfred looked surprised at Arthur’s outburst, wondering who on earth he could be talking about. Deciding it would just be better to let Arthur tell him at his own pace, Alfred led the green-scaled Naga up onto their rock to sit.

Arthur simply sat for a moment, absorbing Alfred’s awkward attempt at comforting pats on his back. Upon deeming himself in control of his voice, Arthur tilted his head down in shame for his previous lack of composure and offered an explanation to the other blond.

“I have five brothers,” he voiced miserably. Alfred frowned, not understanding why that was a cause for unhappiness.

“Uh…I have a twin brother?” Alfred offered. When Arthur didn’t make any indication that he had heard him, Alfred continued. “His name is Matthew and we’re roommates! That is…we live in the same room at my school.” Arthur nodded, remembering Alfred mentioning his brother the last time they met.

“Is he awful to you?” Arthur wondered. He already knew the answer to the question, but it seemed only fair to ask if Arthur was about to expose his own family issues.

“Only if I insult his hockey team,” Alfred chuckled, “but for the most part we get along pretty well. I mean…we have some troubles, like when people mistake him for me because we look so alike or when I’m an unintentional asshole towards him. At the end of the day, though, we look out for each other and are honest about stuff. We work well together.” Alfred smiled sheepishly, realizing that he was ranting a little bit. Arthur, not in the mood to point it out, merely frowned lightly in jealousy. His own family definitely wasn’t anything like that. Sure, he was still close with his mother, but he only got along decently with one of his five brothers. 

“That’s lucky for you then,” he began bitterly. “Four of my brothers are older. The younger one, Peter, is a spoiled brat who doesn’t know his own place. The older ones either almost never speak to me or make it their favorite hobby to make my life a living Hell; Seamus and Alasdair in particular.” 

“Well what do they do to you?” Alfred asked, unable to imagine someone being cruel to their own brother.

Arthur hesitated before answering, no longer sure if he should confide in Alfred. If he told him about the verbal and physical abuse, he would also have to tell him what they teased him for. He didn’t know much about human standards for mating, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to risk having his only friend thinking he was pathetic.

“Essentially, every opportunity they get they assault me for a variety of things,” he said melancholically, hoping Alfred wouldn’t ask for more details.

Alfred crinkled his brow in confusion. “What could they possibly pick on you for? You’re awesome!”

Arthur smiled bitterly, mentally cursing and praising the boy’s endless zest for further knowledge. “I didn’t tell you because it’s a bit embarrassing, but I don’t have a mate,” he explained shyly, fully expecting Alfred to laugh and throw taunts at him like his brothers had always done. He cringed when several moments went by in complete silence and then…

“I don’t get it,” Alfred deadpanned. Arthur looked up in surprise, wondering what there was to not get.

“I don’t have a mate and I’m 23 years old,” he frowned. “I’m getting a little over the hill, don’t you think?”

Alfred stared for a moment, before bursting out with loud, rambunctious laughter that filled the entirety of the clearing. Arthur turned his frowning into an outright scowl, assuming he was being laughed at for being old and without a mate. 

“Shut it! I know you’re thinking I’m some pathetic fool; that I am the loser of my clan, but it’s not my fault that there isn’t anyone appealing!”

Alfred immediately ceased his laughter upon realizing that Arthur was actually serious. Wiping the amused tears from the corners of his eyes, he raised his eyebrows at the disgruntled Naga. “Wait, seriously? To you, 23 is old? How long do Naga live?” he asked, realizing that Arthur’s lifespan could be shorter than a normal human’s due to the snake DNA.

“We live an average of about 80 years. Isn’t that about how long humans live?” Arthur queried. He had a vague idea how human’s aged from reading the books he had scavenged, but nothing specific.

“Yeah, but then why do you think 23 is old? I mean, I’m only 19, but you’re still really young by my standards,” Alfred assured. 

“Wait, you don’t have a mate either, do you? Or at least, you never mentioned one,” Arthur mused. “What are human procedures for mating and such?”

“Uhh…,” Alfred said intelligently, wondering how much he needed to explain. “Well, we don’t call it a ‘mate’, but no, I’ve never had one. We just call it a boyfriend or girlfriend and then when we decide we want to spend the rest of our lives with them we call it a wife or husband.”

Arthur furrowed his brow in confusion. “You can mate with someone and not spend the rest of your life with them?”

“Some people do,” Alfred shrugged. “It’s becoming pretty common, but not everyone does.” Arthur was shocked. He had never heard of such things before, as once two Naga mated together they were bound to each other for the duration of their lives. Mating was considered ritualistic and sacred to his kind, so to hear that humans could be so casual…

“Well, for my kind it’s an extremely big deal. Most find their mates in their teen years, so for me to be 23 years and not even have an attraction to any clan members…it’s worrisome I suppose. I don’t really care, but my brothers are brutal to me for it,” Arthur said sadly.

“Arthur, in human terms, you still have loads of time left. In America, the average person doesn’t get married until 27 and in parts of Europe it’s not until over 30. Seriously, you aren’t pathetic by any means,” Alfred informed, upset that Arthur was being bullied for something he considered completely normal.

Arthur felt a pang of intense jealousy. Humans really waited that long? If a Naga was approaching 30 and didn’t yet have a mate, they would likely be shunned by the rest of the clan. He had watched for the last few years as everyone his age in the clan found mates and began families while he remained alone save the negative attention from his brothers and Francis. It just wasn’t fair…

“Why couldn’t I have been born human?” he shouted unhappily. Alfred laughed softly and reached over to ruffle the Naga’s hair. 

“Because then you wouldn’t be you!” he said enthusiastically before growing more serious. “You’re brothers might be dicks to you, but just know that when you’re around me you don’t have to worry about stuff like mates. I’m not gonna judge you by Naga or human standards, okay?”

Arthur froze, looking into the American’s eyes and searching for signs of a lie, but found only sincerity and acceptance. Slowly, he allowed a bright, thankful smile to make its way onto his features and light up his normally guarded eyes. 

For some reason Alfred couldn’t identify, seeing Arthur smile at him like that gave him a weird, fluttery feeling in his chest and caused a blush to break out across his cheeks. It was like it was becoming difficult to breathe, but not in a bad way. He certainly had never felt that before… but somehow he didn’t mind it in the least. After a moment, he regained control of himself and tried to smile back just as brightly.

Deciding that Arthur was sufficiently comforted about his brothers and insecurities, he clapped his hands and jumped down from the rock to retrieve his fallen books.

“So, I brought you some awesome stuff! First and foremost,” he paused to pull his phone out of his pocket. “I brought music!” he exclaimed proudly. Arthur perked up in interest, excited to hear the human concept of music.

Making his way back to Arthur, Alfred pulled up his Spotify app and located the playlist he had made a couple of days before. “Okay, since I have an awesome phone, we can listen to music and do a bunch of cool stuff on it. I made a list of songs to show you that I think do a pretty good job of representing how much variety our music has, sooo without further ado,” Alfred grinned and held his pointer finger over the “shuffle play” button. When Arthur did nothing but look on in confusion, Alfred pouted slightly and proceeded to start his playlist. 

To say that Arthur was enchanted would be an understatement. For the next hour or so, the pair simply sat and listened as the mix spanning generations and genres poured out of the speakers of the phone. Occasionally, they would exchange words about their opinions on a particular song or Alfred would pause the music and try to explain the differences in styles, but quickly realized that it was more complex than it seemed. Arthur had always been rather neutral to the music of his clan. It was mostly all the same and was only played by Naga when severely bored or celebrating a special event (often the two things coincided). What he was hearing now, however, was incredible. He found himself particularly attracted to what Alfred had called “punk rock”, but had trouble understanding most of the lyrics. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience for Arthur. He found himself, once again, envying humans and the variety that their life held. When they had been listening to music for a while, Alfred presented his textbooks and allowed Arthur to rifle through them as he wished. He wanted to take them back to his den for further study, but Alfred unfortunately needed them for the rest of the week and promised to bring them again some other time. He thought he had been sufficiently awed by the music and knowledge from the books, but then Alfred mentioned something called “video” and did something positively magical with his phone that caused it to display miniature people and objects moving before his eyes. He wasn’t able to understand Alfred’s explanation of why it was able to do that, so he settled for enjoying everything the human pulled up to show him.

Alfred, for his part, could not have been happier with Arthur’s reactions. With every new song and video, Arthur’s face would twist into pure wonder and amazement before looking to Alfred for a brief explanation and then settling down into a calmer form of fascination, only to begin the process all over again when the next thing came up. It was entertaining to watch at the very least and Alfred couldn’t help but stare a little. Seeing the Naga’s eyes lit up like that was certainly an improvement from a while ago when they had been dulled by sadness and Alfred found himself looking up random videos he knew nothing about just so Arthur would keep making those happy expressions. 

It made Alfred rather pensive when he realized that this was the most he had enjoyed himself in a long while. He kept himself so busy with schoolwork that he had little time to do anything else and it was only in this moment that he realized he missed his youthful times that were filled with long days of nothing but playing with his friends without a care in the world. Sure, it was nice that they had all gone to college together and he loved eating meals and studying with them, but they had all been together so long it was almost like they took each other for granted and no longer took time out to just enjoy each other’s company.

In the middle of the long line of videos, Arthur looked up to realize that Alfred was no longer smiling happily, but looking off to the side with a frown on his face. Sitting up from his lounging position, he poked the human in the side to get his attention.

“Hey, why so somber?” he asked in concern. 

Alfred snapped his head back towards Arthur, wondering how long he had been off in his own world. “Oh, sorry. Heh,” he chuckled slightly. “It’s dumb actually. I was thinking about how much fun this is and then I started getting bummed out about how long it’s been since I’ve done something like this.”

“You don’t do this often?” Arthur prodded. 

Alfred shook his head sadly. “Not really. I listen to music all the time, but it’s been a while since I did it while doing nothing else. School keeps me really busy,” he explained, sighing softly. “I used to do a lot of fun things with my friends and stuff, but now that we are taking difficult classes we’ve all become more serious, I guess.”

“That doesn’t suit you,” Arthur hummed. “I picture you as the sort to loaf about as much as possible,” he said honestly. 

Alfred laughed, wondering how Arthur had come to that conclusion from knowing him for less than a week. “Yeah, that used to be me back in grade school. Then when I decided I wanted to be a biologist, things changed. I started working myself dry and I guess along the way I lost sight of how important relaxing and having fun was to me,” he said wistfully.

Arthur tilted his head to the side and studied Alfred’s face. The corners of his mouth and eyebrows were stretched and turned down in a regretful way while his eyes seemed to be resigned to continuing life in the same studious fashion they had seen for the past couple of years. That would simply not do.

“There will be none of that, now,” he commanded firmly. “What is the point of having a life if you are not enjoying it to the fullest? I know that seems rather hypocritical of me since I’m unhappy with my lot, but at least you have a choice. Blast it all, Alfred, you have so many bloody choices and I expect you to use them! Don’t allow yourself to wallow in self-pity for not having much fun lately when you can easily change that.”

Alfred stared at the Naga, feeling multiple conflicting emotions about his rant. He felt stupid because Arthur was completely right and realized how selfish he must seem. Here he was whining about something that could be so easily fixed when Arthur was unhappy and could do nothing about it. Most of all, however, he focused on the way Arthur’s eyes flashed when irritated and how his obese eyebrows migrated to angle downwards and Alfred found himself smiling in spite of the situation.

“Damn Arthur. Are all Naga this wise?” he asked seriously.

Arthur immediately blushed and looked away, unused to compliments. “I don’t know…have you thought that maybe I’m just average so to you I seem brilliant?” he mocked, but the teasing smile let Alfred know he was only kidding.

“Hey!” Alfred stuck his tongue out. “Whatever. I’m plenty smart!” The two laughed before lapsing into a companionable silence, enjoying the feeling of having someone to joke around with; the feeling of having a friend.

Eventually, Arthur’s eyes wandered back to the phone still sitting between them. He still wasn’t sure how Alfred made it show different things by touching it, but he wanted it to go back to when it was playing music. Noticing Arthur’s furtive glances at the device, Alfred chuckled.

“You want to watch some more videos?” he asked, picking up the phone and bringing up Safari.

“Actually,” Arthur said hesitantly, “can we listen to another song?”

Alfred smiled and nodded, happy that Arthur was so eager to hear more human music. Continuing the playlist he had paused in favor of giving a video lesson, Alfred nearly jumped up and squealed when the next song came on.

“This is my ringtone!” he pointed at the phone dramatically. “The song you heard the other day when my brother was asking me where I was. Remember? It’s totally my favorite song ever!”

Arthur nodded, amused at the other’s reaction. For such a self-proclaimed serious student, Alfred sure did know how to act like an overgrown child at times. It was almost…endearing. Contenting himself to lay back against the warm rock, Arthur closed his eyes and listened to the lyrics. He had found that the words often contained interesting things about humans and the way they lived, so he was happily soaking them up like a sponge. 

_Don’t remind me_  
That some days I’m a windshield  
And other days I’m just a lucky bug  
As cold iron rails leave  
Old mossy trails through the countryside 

Arthur frowned lightly, trying to interpret the words. He didn’t understand what they meant, but he liked the way they sounded. He noticed that a lot of times it sounded like the artists strung random words together, but he decided he liked it.

_The crow and the bean field_  
Are my best friends but  
Boy, I need a hug  
Cause my heart stops without you  
There’s something about you that makes me feel alive 

Alfred opened his eyes and looked over at Arthur, smiling the see the concentrated look on his face. He felt something in his own heart stir while watching the Naga try to make sense of the lyrics and wondered once more what it was. Pausing to think about the song, he realized that it actually was pretty fitting for the moment. Alfred had been so busy with life and now that he was just hanging out with Arthur, he felt more alive than he had in a while.

_If the green left the grass on the other side_  
I would make like a tree and leave  
But if I reached for your hand   
would your eyes get wide?  
Who knew the other side could be so green? 

Lifting up his hands, Arthur inspected them, noting the pale, slim fingers and slightly sharpened nails. Alfred had his hands folded behind his head, so Arthur couldn’t really get a good look at them. He thought about what the singer had said and wondered what would happen if he asked to look at Alfred’s hands. It didn’t mean anything in the Naga culture, but was looking at someone’s hand more significant to humans? It must be if the song was anything to go by. He pictured reaching for Alfred’s hand and thought that it might feel rather nice, but quickly dismissed such thoughts and went back to listening.

When the song was over, Arthur turned his head towards Alfred and smiled. “I liked that very much,” he admitted. Alfred positively beamed in delight upon hearing this.

“Good, I was hoping you would say that,” he enthused. After that, the two turned back to the sky and relaxed, simply letting the music wash over them.

Alfred was surprised to find himself waking up. He hadn’t remembered falling asleep, but he clearly must have at some point if the fact that he was opening his eyes and feeling himself return from a groggy state was any indication. Looking up at the sky above him and blinking to clear away the remnants of sleep, Alfred realized that it had become dark out. It wasn’t so dark that he could no longer see, but that state was rapidly approaching. He wondered briefly where he was exactly, but then remembered he had been laying on the rock with Arthur and listening to music. 

Alfred attempted to sit up to search for his phone, but was stopped by a weight on his chest. Looking down, he noticed that Arthur must have fallen asleep too and somehow shifted so that he was curled up on Alfred’s chest. He had his head between Alfred’s ribs with his arms folded up between their bodies and his tail was clinging lightly around Alfred’s ankle. Remembering hearing from biology classes that snakes needed warmth from another source, Alfred smiled softly and blew air through his nose. He almost didn’t want to wake Arthur up, but he needed to get back to his dorm to avoid upsetting Matthew like he had last Friday. 

Reaching down and gently shaking Arthur’s shoulder, Alfred attempted to encourage the snoozing Naga to wake up. “Arthur,” he whispered. “Wake up, we must’ve fallen asleep.” When the Naga merely gave a small groan and snuggled further into Alfred’s chest, Alfred swallowed heavily and ignored the sudden tingling inside his ribcage.

_He’s so…cute!_ Alfred realized. Biting his lip, he considered his options. He could try harder to rouse Arthur and then he could go home or he could gently remove him and then leave him to his sleep. No, that would be awful. He would get in trouble if his clan found out he came here… So that left waking Arthur up or just going back to sleep and worrying about it in the morning. He knew that if he stayed here for the night, he would be given hell from his friends when he finally did get back, but it would almost be worth it if he didn’t have to disturb the tranquil expression on Arthur’s face. Before he could make the decision, however, the Naga stirred once more and slowly lifted his head, blinking his eyes dazedly up at Alfred. 

Alfred opened his mouth to utter a “hello,” but Arthur didn’t give him the chance and shot backwards to the other side of the rock as if he had been burned. 

“I’m so sorry!” he apologized, blushing fiercely. “I didn’t mean to do it, I just automatically move towards the nearest heat source when I’m asleep!”

Alfred chuckled. “You don’t have to apologize, it’s fine. It was actually…kinda nice,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Arthur blushed even deeper and looked away. He couldn’t believe he had done that, but at the same time, he totally could. Alfred was so warm it seemed unnatural; any Naga would have curled up to him in their sleep. However, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing and the human’s statement wasn’t any help. 

“Yes, well. Quite.” He coughed awkwardly, still looking away but feeling Alfred’s gaze locked onto him. Peering around the clearing, he realized he needed to get back soon or someone would notice he was gone. “I should be going now. It’s well past the time it should have taken to hunt and I’m sure I will be getting some questions later on,” he said with a bit of reluctance. 

“Yeah, I need to go back too,” Alfred said. He hesitated, thinking deeply on whether or not to suggest what he had been pondering all afternoon. “Hey, so I was thinking,” he began. Arthur raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

“Oh? Well that’s an accomplishment,” he teased.

“Shut up,” Alfred laughed. “No, really though. There’s something I want to try, but it could be a terrible idea. I’m free all day this Saturday and well….I was thinking that maybe I could show you the human world.”

Arthur frowned, not understanding what the other meant. “You’ve been showing me the human world,” he stated.

“No, I mean like really show you. I have a car, that’s how we humans get around, and I thought that I could take you to it and you could ride in it and stuff and we could drive around the area and you could see more places,” he said nervously. He knew it was risky, but he really hoped the Naga would agree to it and not chastise him for such a terrible idea.

“Wha-really?” Arthur stuttered. His eyes were wide and eager with excitement at the prospect of actually seeing more than the forest. “You would really do that?” 

“Of course!” Alfred smiled. “But we would have to be super careful. I think we can pull it off though. Meet me here Saturday morning, okay? Like, around 9.”

Arthur nodded, thinking of how difficult it would be to come up with an excuse to explain his absence for an entire day, but it would be so completely worth it. “Alright, I will! Thank you Alfred, this really means a lot to me,” he gushed, not caring if he sounded ridiculous. 

“No problem,” Alfred answered. He gave a thumbs-up and then the two of them continued to stare at each other, each wondering what an appropriate farewell would be in the situation. In the end, Alfred moved in for a hug at the same time Arthur stuck his hand out, remembering what Alfred had showed him the first time they met. The result was Arthur’s hand getting crushed in between their chests. Alfred let go quickly, feeling a blush form and cover him from head to toe and gave a soft smile to help diffuse the awkward tension. 

“Um, well, see you Saturday!” he said quickly, turning on his heel, grabbing his books, jumping off the rock, and jogging back toward his dorms, leaving Arthur to feel rather cold and strangely empty.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Alfred got back to his dorm building, he was practically running. Night had fallen in full force while he was travelling back from the triangular rock and he was very anxious to go inside. He wasn’t afraid of the dark or anything, he was just excited to get back to his room. That’s all. 

As he finally reached the safe, well-lit confines of the interior, he collapsed into a nearby lounge chair to regain his breath. It had been a while since he had run like that and it was just a painful reminder that he was fairly out of shape due to the copious amounts of time he dedicated to his study rather than working out like he did in high school. Thinking back to what Arthur had said about having a choice in the way he lived his life, Alfred allowed a content smile to creep onto his face. 

When he finished recovering from the run, Alfred headed immediately up to his room. He figured that most of his friends could be found in the dorm study lounge around this time, but all he really wanted to do was spend some time relaxing by himself. He loved the company of others, but it was rare that he got alone time and figured it was a safe bet that the room would be empty right now. Unfortunately, when he turned the handle of his door and swung it open, he was proven very wrong with that assumption.

“What the hell?!” Alfred exclaimed. There in the middle of the room was Matthew, which was a common enough sight for Alfred, but what he hadn’t prepared for was that Matthew was in the middle of the room holding a polar bear cub. As soon as Alfred came in, Matthew hastily tried to turn away and hide the cub behind his back, but it was too late as Alfred had already glimpsed it.

“Shut the door!” Matthew instructed when Alfred simply stood there gawking with the door wide open. He hastily spun around and did as told before turning back to Matthew and gave a look that clearly said ‘okay you better explain why the fuck there is an animal in our dorm room.’ Matthew was a pre-vet major and had had a lifelong love of animals, so Alfred wasn’t entirely unaccustomed to coming back to his bedroom and finding his twin hoarding away an injured animal. He could remember several instances in their childhood where he would wake up in the middle of the night and hear his brother sneaking back into the house after going out and rescuing a bird or squirrel or rabbit he had found earlier. This however, was on an entirely new scale. 

Matthew sighed softly and ran a hand through his silky hair, indicating his aggravation. “Don’t freak out, okay? But I told you I was going to be bringing a friend up here and that they might still be here when you got back,” he said. 

When Alfred was finally able to reclaim his use of words, he choked out, “Yeah, a friend! Dude what the fuck! There is a polar bear in our room!” he pointed dramatically at the cub for emphasis. 

Rolling his eyes, Matthew adopted an indifferent stance. “Well done, Al. I can see it, no need for pointing.”

Alfred stared at him wide-eyed and could only think of one thing to ask. “Why?”

“I rescued him!” Matthew proudly proclaimed. “From the university animal department,” he elaborated upon seeing Alfred’s dubious expression. “They were going to put him down because of his gimp foot even though there isn’t anything else wrong with him!” Matthew looked positively stricken at the thought, and Alfred noticed for the first time that one of the polar bear’s legs was slightly bent at an unnatural angle. 

“So you brought it here?!” Alfred cried. He didn’t have an issue with his hippy-dippy brother rescuing animals, in fact he encouraged it, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about his rescue missions including animals that could grow to kill both of them without trying. “What are you going to do with it?”

“It’s not an it!” Matthew scolded. “His name is…uh…Kilimanjaro or something like that. And I’m not sure yet, eh? But we just need to lay low for a few days until the staff stop searching for him and then maybe I can find a good zoo home,” he thought for the first time. He hadn’t exactly planned where he would keep the cub long term; the only thing that had been on his mind was the immediate rescue. 

Alfred sighed deeply, wondering why he suddenly had to be the responsible brother. “…Alright. But just a few days, okay? And keep it away from my stuff,” he requested, figuring that Matthew was keeping the bear in their room whether he was okay with it or not. 

Matthew nodded enthusiastically. “Don’t worry! You won’t even know he’s in here!” he claimed. At that exact moment, the polar bear wandered over to Alfred and peed on his shoe in greeting. 

“Uck!” Alfred yelled, jumping away from the offending creature and narrowing his eyes accusingly at his brother. Matthew simply hid a laugh behind his hand and went to pick up the cub, scolding him lightly for his transgression. 

After throwing away his shoes and cleaning up the mess on the floor, Alfred decided to just forget about his relaxing alone time and go to sleep. He didn’t see how he could get any work done either, considering that he had to eye the polar bear every few seconds to make sure it was staying in its corner. 

That night, Alfred had a strange dream. He wasn’t sure exactly what had caused it, but he had a feeling it had something to do with that afternoon. He dreamt he was back in the clearing with Arthur. They were both sitting side by side on their rock like usual, but somehow Alfred could immediately feel that something was slightly different. 

For a long while, neither of them spoke. He somehow felt timeless, like he had been sitting on that rock with Arthur since time began and would stay there forever, but it simultaneously felt like only an instant. He felt perfectly content to sit there in silence and listen to the breeze rustling the forest around them and the soft noises of his and Arthur’s breathing. Everything looked and felt so real: the sky above him, the cool rock under him, the air and forest around him…Alfred wasn’t usually one for lucid dreaming, so this surprised him.

_But that was before…_ a small voice in his mind whispered. Alfred crinkled his eyebrows together in confusion. Before what? 

Eventually, Arthur turned to face him with a content smile stuck on his face that suited him in the best possible way. Alfred felt the tightening sensation in his chest that was rapidly becoming familiar, for better or for worse. 

“The trees aren’t so lonely today,” he murmured. Alfred only nodded thoughtfully. Somehow in this dream, Arthur’s words made perfect sense. Neither of them spoke again after that, instead electing to just enjoy the other’s company. After a time, Arthur leaned back and placed one of his hands atop Alfred’s, smiling when Alfred immediately linked their fingers together and gave a soft squeeze. 

Alfred woke up after another seemingly endless stretch of sitting and basking in the sun and breeze. Thursday. Alfred groaned and buried his face farther into the pillow at the thought. He felt so comfortable and warm underneath his covers and even thinking about getting up felt like a crime. Hearing his twin rummaging around the room, however, he figured he had probably slept in late enough as it was. 

As Alfred reluctantly climbed off the top bunk of the beds and got ready for the day, giving a sleepy ‘morning’ nod to his brother, his thoughts wandered back to the dream. Never before had Alfred had a dream where so much of seemingly nothing occurred, but he also couldn’t remember ever having such a pleasant dream. It was filled with nothing but complete peace and tranquility and Alfred found himself thinking that if he had to pick a dream in which to exist forever, that would be the one. Still, he was slightly off put when he recalled how familiar it had felt to hold Arthur’s hand like that. He had seen hundreds of couples performing the same action, but Alfred himself had never wished for it with anyone. Why was he suddenly having these thoughts about his new friend? 

When he got downstairs to the dining hall, Kiku and Elizaveta were already sitting at the group’s usual table talking animatedly about something. Knowing the kinds of things the two were into, Alfred wasn’t sure he really wanted to know the subject of conversation. As he grabbed some food and approached the table, however, both pairs of eyes immediately glued to him with intense interest.

“Good morning, Alfred!” Elizaveta chirped with a disconcerting twinkle in her eye. 

“Er, morning Eliza, Kiku,” Alfred mumbled to his friends as he took a seat at the table. Elizaveta and Kiku exchanged a glance and appeared to agree on something before turning back to Alfred. 

“How was your afternoon yesterday?” Kiku asked casually, remaining stoic when Alfred began choking on a bit of egg. After he had composed himself and chugged back some apple juice, he returned his attention to the question.

“It was really great!” he said honestly. It had felt so natural to spend time with Arthur and he couldn’t wait to see him for the entire day on Saturday.

“So…what’s his name again?” Elizaveta wondered, abandoning her own breakfast in favor of leaning towards Alfred and resting her chin in her hand. 

“It’s Arthur,” Alfred answered after some hesitation. He didn’t want to reveal too much about his friend, but he figured answering simple questions such as this was acceptable.

“What did the two of you do together?” Elizaveta pried.

“Uh…we just sat around mostly and listened to music and talked,” Alfred said happily. The other two noticed his pleased tone and Elizaveta positively squealed. 

“Are you going to be seeing him again soon?” Kiku asked. Alfred could tell he was just as excited as Elizaveta for the new development, but was unwilling to outwardly express it.

“Yeah, we’re going to hang out on Saturday, why?” Alfred asked. He knew it was a big deal for one of the members of his friend group to get a new friend, but he didn’t understand why they wanted so many details. He hoped it wasn’t a mistake to tell them he would be seeing Arthur again on Saturday. If they started asking many more questions he was going to have to avoid them for a while so they couldn’t accidentally find out about Arthur being a Naga.

“No reason!” Elizaveta was quick to supply, giving a warning glance at Kiku when he opened his mouth to ask another question. 

Alfred shrugged, used to the eccentricities of his friends. The three continued to make pleasant conversation for the next few minutes until Alfred and Elizaveta had to leave for psychology class and Kiku left to go back up to his dorm room. 

That afternoon found Alfred sitting in the study area trying to focus on an assignment. He really didn’t feel like doing it and instead his mind kept wandering to Arthur’s words on his ability to make choices regarding his own life. With a bright smile, Alfred decided to take the first step towards the fun relationship he used to have with all his friends before university life took its toll. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick message.

**Kiku Honda, Gilbert Beilschmidt, Toris Laurinaitis, Elizaveta Hedervary, Ivan Braginski, Matthew Williams**   
_Hey guys! So it’s been a while since we’ve all just hung out together besides eating or studying. Tomorrow after classes we’re going to fix that, k? Let’s meet in the dorm room commons area, we’re going out! :D_

Everyone responded within an hour with various levels of enthusiasm. Elizaveta and Gilbert were by far the most on board with the idea, but Matthew and Toris seemed to have some reservations. It took some convincing, but eventually everyone had agreed to meet the following evening. 

When everyone was finally assembled in the commons area the next day, Alfred clapped his hands together excitedly. While their campus felt relatively isolated, there was actually a nice town a short drive away where university students could go out to a nice restaurant, see a movie, or even go to a bar and frequent a club. Since none of the group was legally of age for alcohol yet, Alfred had put Ivan in charge of bringing some for the outing and designated Matthew as the unwilling sober driver.

“Alriiiight! Ivan, you brought the alc-” Alfred quickly cut himself off when he noticed the strict Residential Advisor walk into the room. “The stuff?”

“Da!” Ivan exclaimed happily. “I brought lots of variety for everyone!” The group cheered at the Russian’s words and rushed outside to pile into Alfred’s car. It was a tight squeeze, but the other option was Ivan’s manual car and if Matthew was to be the designated driver, they had to take Alfred’s smaller automatic. 

“So, Alfred,” Elizaveta droned. “What made you decide we were going out?”

Alfred smiled back at his friends from the passenger seat. “Something someone said to me. It’s just been a while, ya know?” Everyone nodded a bit sadly. It had been a while since they were together doing something besides eating or studying. 

As the night wore on, the group of old friends revisited many of their hijinks from their teen days. When they passed the local Wal-Mart, Gilbert shouted at Matthew until he agreed to pull over so Gilbert could try and convince an older person to buy them beer (Ivan’s “variety” turned out to just be various flavors of vodka). When the first person he asked ended up being a police officer, they had to run back to the car and speed off to avoid spending the night trying to bail their friend out of jail. After they successfully escaped, they decided to go see a movie and sneak the vodka into the dark room to be the obnoxious loud people that everyone hates. Not even half an hour in, they were kicked out and had to flee the scene once again upon discovery of their alcohol. None of them were in the mood for civil activities, having way too much fun causing trouble (especially Alfred, Gilbert, and Ivan), so they decided to go around the town and pull pranks at every location they could get away with while getting progressively more intoxicated. Although they accumulated dirty looks from a sober Matthew and countless random strangers, Alfred couldn’t remember the last time he had had so much fun. They agreed collectively when they got back very late to the dorm that they should start hanging out every weekend like old times.

As Alfred laid in bed that night hoping he wouldn’t wake up with a hangover, he smiled to himself as he thought about how he couldn’t wait to tell Arthur about his night. He knew the Naga would be proud of him for setting aside his school work in order to reconnect with his younger, happier days and maybe even give him one of his rare, special smiles. Wondering if he would have another dream like the night before, Alfred fell asleep to the occasional scratching sound from Matthew’s polar bear cub.


	7. Chapter 7

It was easier than Arthur had anticipated to sneak away early Saturday morning. To his extreme fortune, on Friday night there had been a large hunt involving the whole clan for “bonding time” that had lasted late into the night, so when Arthur rose to go and meet Alfred, everyone had still been asleep. He wasn’t even going to try denying his excitement for their outing today, but whether he was more excited about leaving the forest or seeing Alfred again was up for debate. Of course, if he was asked he would deny that his enthusiasm was for anything other than learning more about humans.

His past few days had been decent. Perhaps his brothers had realized that they had crossed a line on Wednesday, as although they still teased him, it was highly watered down from their usual bullying. This suited Arthur just fine, as not only was he happy to be rid of them for a while, but not seeing them as much didn’t give them time to question why he had been away for several hours on Wednesday and perhaps they wouldn’t even notice the all-day disappearing act he was about to pull. That thought gave him hope as he settled onto the triangular rock to wait for his predictably tardy friend.

The Naga had been tracking the movements of a squirrel a few feet away from him when Alfred came bursting loudly into the clearing. He had been contemplating making a meal out of it, but the loudness of the American sent it scampering immediately off into the trees and out of sight. Arthur sighed, thanking the universe that Alfred didn’t have to hunt for food or the human would have starved to death long ago. 

“Hey, Arthur!” Alfred greeted. 

“Hello, Alfred,” Arthur responded, hesitantly waving his hand like Alfred had shown him and hoping he was doing it right.

“Alright!” Alfred said as he reached Arthur’s side. “So here’s how this is gunna go down. I parked my car at the very edge of the woods so that when we get there nobody will be able to see us and we can get in and go on our way. Sound good?”

“Just lead the way,” Arthur said airily. He didn’t honestly care one way or the other how they got to Alfred’s car as long as he was finally going to get out of these woods.   
During the entirety of their walk to the car, Alfred chatted animatedly about his previous night out with his friends. Arthur was unsettled during the descriptions of the general mayhem they had caused, but Alfred assured him that it hadn’t been that big of a deal. In turn, Arthur glided over the last few days of his own life, not having nearly as much to tell since he tended to do the same thing day after day. 

When they finally got to Alfred’s car, the human immediately opened the door for the Naga and gestured expectantly to the interior. Arthur’s eyes widened upon seeing the vehicle for the first time. It looked like a giant metal cage and in his mind he couldn’t help but think the words “immediate, painful suicide”. Slithering cautiously towards it, he paused a few feet away from the open door to cross his arms over his chest and glare suspiciously. He trusted Alfred to not put him in any danger intentionally, but he had once read a book where someone had died in a vehicle and although this had seemed like a great idea on Wednesday, he now was wondering if they should just go back to the clearing and sit on their rock.

Alfred caught the mistrusting glare and chuckled. “I know this’ll be really weird for you, but I promise I’m an awesome driver! We’re just going around town anyways, and there aren’t any dangerous roads.”

“…Alright,” Arthur conceded, gliding the short distance left. He stopped when he was right at the entrance to the car, unsure of how to get into it without help from Alfred, but unwilling to ask. Luckily, he didn’t have to, as Alfred had anticipated the issue and moved to Arthur’s side, wrapping his arms securely around the Naga’s waist and hoisting him into the seat. Arthur let out an undignified hiss when he felt himself being lifted, but relaxed upon realizing what was happening. Smiling at his friend, Alfred made sure the length of Arthur’s tail was in the car and shut the door to move around to the other side and climb behind the steering wheel. 

“There’s a blanket, shirt, and hat under your seat,” Alfred informed the other. “Put on the shirt since we’ll be in public and make sure the blanket covers your tail. The hat is to cover your ears.”

Arthur was silently impressed with Alfred’s foresight, but didn’t comment on it while doing as instructed. He could understand that he needed to cover his ears so that the humans they drove by wouldn’t look into the window and be alarmed by the appearance, but he hated how they restricted his hearing as soon as he pulled on the wool garment. The shirt, however, seemed wholly unnecessary. It was constricting and too large; the only attribute was that it smelled heavily of Alfred, which for some reason lent him a form of comfort. Hearing the other’s laughter from the seat next to him, he turned his head in order to glare.

“Don’t laugh at me!” he cried indignantly. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Alfred said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s just…you look cute.”

Arthur felt his eyes widen, coughing and turning away to hide the blush that had risen to his cheeks at the comment. He was sure the human meant nothing by it, but it didn’t stop him from feeling embarrassed and slightly giddy. He had never been complimented in such a manner before and it was only natural to react that way. Doing his best to recover quickly from the flattery, he turned back to find that Alfred had his own matching blush. 

“Why do I have to wear the shirt?” Arthur asked, pulling unhappily at the fabric to lighten the slightly awkward atmosphere that had cropped up.

Alfred chuckled, glad for the subject change. “Because people’ll look at you weird if you don’t. It’s not acceptable for us to just go around naked,” he explained.

“That’s utter rubbish,” Arthur stated bluntly, frowning when Alfred began to laugh at him. “Why are you laughing now?!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Alfred apologized, rubbing his eyes. “It’s just…the way you put that. You’re so English!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Arthur scoffed. “I’m a Naga, not English.”

Alfred merely shook his head. “No, England is a place. You’re English if you’re from England. I know you’ve never been there, but you have the accent and the phrases down perfectly.”

“…I see.”

Arthur still didn’t fully understand, but completely lost the urge to question it further when the Alfred turned the key in the ignition and caused the car to make a low vibration and growling sound. He clutched the blanket on his lap tightly, looking around the car frantically for the source of the noise. 

“Alfred, why is the car making those sounds?”

The human looked over in surprise at the clear sign of distress in Arthur’s voice and reached over to lay a comforting hand on his clothed shoulder. Arthur relaxed, figuring he wasn’t in any immediate danger if Alfred wasn’t panicking. 

“It’s okay, it’s just the way the car functions. It won’t hurt you,” he soothed. Arthur remained tense for a moment before exhaling, releasing his death grip on the blanket. 

“Alright.”

“One more thing…” Alfred bit his lip nervously. Arthur looked over skeptically, wondering what other surprises the car ride would have in store for him.

“Don’t freak out when we move, okay? It’s what’s supposed to happen,” Alfred warned, returning his hands to the steering wheel and waiting patiently for Arthur to give his consent to start driving. In response, the Naga merely nodded and nestled himself further into the seat. However, when Alfred pulled a lever of some sort, Arthur returned to clenching the blanket with wide, terrified eyes. He tried his best to not voice his panic and accept that this was a normal function of human life, but the sensation took quite a while to get used to. To begin, Alfred was kind enough to drive slowly around the parking lot in circles to allow Arthur to adjust. When it was clear he wasn’t going to suffer from motion sickness, they were off. 

“We can’t really go into any places because people would freak out, but I came up with some cool ideas while I was out last night,” Alfred informed. 

Arthur nodded, too busy watching the scenery fly by at unprecedented speeds to hold any sort of real conversation. As a Naga, he could move fairly quickly, but never in his life had he imagined seeing the world move by like this. He could barely make out the sight of something before it was disappearing behind the car. 

“So first I thought I could show you around the campus where I live and study. You seemed pretty interested in that and I can explain more about the way everything works,” Alfred proposed. 

Arthur wrenched his eyes away from the window to look over at Alfred. “That would be wonderful. How far away is it?” 

“Just down the road a ways. The dorm building is just around this corner and then the academic buildings are a short drive away from that,” Alfred chirped. 

In short, Arthur loved the university. There were numerous people sprawled outside in the grass and walking around the buildings, enjoying the fresh morning air. He couldn’t believe how many people were in this area alone, but Alfred explained to him that there were many more in the surrounding towns. Just how many humans were there in the world? He had to wonder. As the duo drove by the buildings, Alfred pointed out his dorm building, explaining that he shared the building with nearly two hundred others to sleep, study, and eat. Occasionally, they would pass someone Alfred knew from classes and he would wave out the window in greeting, giving Arthur information about each person and relating memories involving them. Thankfully, they didn’t pass any of his close friends—they were still sleeping off the night before—as they would have grilled Arthur about his friendship with Alfred. 

Arthur was even more fascinated by the buildings containing classrooms and libraries. He had always been curious and eager to learn, so naturally entire structures dedicated to knowledge were of interest to him. Arthur admired how Alfred’s enthusiasm for his education rolled off him in waves, leaving him entranced as he watched the younger boy gesturing dangerously with his hands, especially when they passed the science building where Alfred took most of his classes. Although he still didn’t know much of the finer details, Arthur felt he had exponentially increased his knowledge of Alfred’s life. Before, he hadn’t really been able to picture what his friend was talking about, but now that he had seen at least the outside of the buildings, he could relate more. It disappointed him faintly that he couldn’t go inside, but he had a feeling that he would have been too overwhelmed to absorb anything if they had. 

It was almost noon by the time Arthur felt he had sufficiently seen the place that Alfred was spending four years of his life. By that time, he had begun to notice the other boy’s stomach rumbling loudly and was getting tired of pretending he didn’t notice.

“Alfred, if you’re hungry we should see about getting some food,” he offered, feeling rather peckish himself. 

Alfred grinned sheepishly, covering his stomach with his hand. “Yeah, I guess we probably should.” Suddenly, he gave a bright, excited smile. “I have the absolute perfect place! Oh my gosh Arthur you are going to love it!”

Arthur raised his eyebrows at the energetic student, but conceded to eat wherever Alfred had in mind. He wondered where they could possibly be going, since Arthur couldn’t get out of the car, but he trusted the American to have a plan. 

The plan turned out to be something called a “Mc Donald’s” as Alfred was oh-so-happy to inform him. Arthur was stunned to know that there were places humans could go to get food without even stepping one foot out of their car. He wasn’t sure what to do first: commend them on their innovation or mourn how incredibly lazy the idea was. In the end, he went with sitting silently as Alfred ordered food for the both of them, reassuring him that he would be “completely in love with” everything there. He had his doubts at first, but he couldn’t stop his mouth from watering as the smell of cooked meat filled the small space of the car. 

“What…is this?” Arthur asked as he poked through the contents of the bag Alfred had handed to him. He couldn’t help but notice that Alfred had kept four bags entirely to himself, but wasn’t going to question it.

“I got you a double cheeseburger and a large fries. Your soda’s right here,” Alfred got out through the large mouthful of…something…he had just bitten into, gesturing at the space between their seats. 

“Yes…I heard that when you ordered. But what is it?” Arthur reiterated, pulling what seemed like a hot, greasy stick out of his bag.

Alfred finished chewing his bite and swallowed heavily, sipping on his drink before answering the perplexed Naga. “It’s called a French fry. They make it out of potato. It’s good, just try it!” he encouraged, shoving a handful of his own fries into his mouth. 

Arthur watched the other boy chewing before hesitantly lifting the fry up to his own pouty lips and taking a small bite. He chewed thoughtfully, letting the flavor and texture absorb onto his tongue. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It seemed odd to be eating something other than meat and various fruits and vegetables, but he thought that perhaps it was something he could get used to. Noticing that Alfred was waiting intently for a reaction, he looked over at the other boy and gave a small smile of approval. 

“See?” Alfred grinned. “Try the hamburger, too. It’s just meat and bread and cheese. You have cooked meat, right?”

“Of course we cook our meat!” Arthur exclaimed with a look of disgust. Honestly, the assumptions Alfred sometimes had about his species were ridiculous. Choosing to ignore his friend for the moment, Arthur turned to his food and plucked the hamburger out of the bag. He found that this, too, wasn’t half bad. Like the fries, it would take some getting used to, but it was a welcome change from the monotony that was his usual diet. His soda caught his interest, and although it didn’t exactly taste good, the bubbles kept him entertained. They ate quietly (or at least as quietly as possible when Alfred was eating at such a rapid, disturbing pace), enjoying the novelty of each other’s company and the unhealthy food. 

When they finished—somehow Alfred managed to eat all four bags of his food before Arthur finished his—Alfred started up the car once more and they pulled out of the fast food parking lot. 

“Where to now?” Arthur asked curiously. He was already thoroughly impressed by Alfred’s university and the surrounding town-he wasn’t sure what else he could possibly see for today.

“Mmm,” Alfred hummed thoughtfully. “There’s this park we could go to. It’s really secluded so no one would notice if we walked around.”

“Sounds fine,” Arthur nodded. He settled into his seat and contented himself with regarding the world out the window, marveling at how completely different it was from his own. The blanket was soft and warm on his lap, keeping his partially cold-blooded body at a comfortable temperature. He found that instead of frightening him, the motions of the car were now working to gently lull him into a calm state of mind. Feeling his eyes starting to slip closed, he was suddenly jolted out of his slight stupor when Alfred made a sharp yell.

“I forgot to put on the radio!” he despaired. Arthur shot him a confused look, wondering why this was such a bad thing. The human reached over next to what he called the “steering wheel” and turned some sort of dial. Arthur was confused until suddenly music was coming from seemingly nowhere, flooding the small enclosure in noise and a loud bass line. Alfred grinned over at his companion. “The radio lets us listen to music in the car.”

Arthur perked up upon hearing the song: he had no idea that cars could play music. He could feel his ears twitch slightly under his hat, eager to pick up the melody. He startled when Alfred suddenly began to sing along loudly and off-key, bobbing his head in time with the rhythm. Arthur looked on in horror; it wasn’t that Alfred had a bad voice, necessarily, it was just that he didn’t seem to have any comprehension of the notes or pitch. Arthur longed to learn to words simply so he could teach Alfred how it should be done properly. Still, it was rather endearing with the way the boy seemed so happy and enthusiastic, singing song after song as they drove down streets and past businesses and people walking on the sidewalks.

After several songs had gone by of the ear-splitting vocals, the endearing effect was rapidly wearing off and Arthur was reaching his limits. His sensitive ears, although partially protected by his hat, were beginning to ache. He should find the gentlest way possible to politely ask Alfred to stop singing…

“Alfred for fucks sake shut your bloody trap!” 

Nailed it.

Alfred cut himself off right in the middle of a long high note, looking over at the Naga in surprise before laughing and lowering the volume. “Sorry, Arthur. I’ll stop. We’re here, anyway.”

Sure enough, Arthur returned his gaze outside to see that they were pulling up alongside a park. Unlike the couple others they had passed around town already, this one seemed to be significantly more secluded with several different kinds of trees bordering the lot, providing cover from any onlookers that happened to pass by. Multitudes of shrubs and grass surrounded the trunks, some flowering and some clearly bearing fruits. The foliage spread deep within the park, emulating a forest right there in the middle of the town. Arthur didn’t know what to think of the fact that he felt more at ease in the strange world just from the sight of it.

Alfred killed the ignition and promptly hopped out of the car, heading around to Arthur’s side to help him off the seat.

“Not to downplay your idea,” Arthur said with a deadpan expression as he promptly removed the shirt once he reached the ground, “but why would we come here when we can walk around the woods near the university any time?”

Alfred smiled at Arthur’s eagerness to ditch the clothing. “Because, those are the woods near the university. They’re your woods. I wanted to go on a walk with you in a part of my world.”

“Oh…that’s rather…” sweet, Arthur realized. However, he didn’t voice this thought and instead smiled softly at his friend. “Let’s get to it then.”

Alfred cheered at the victory, locking his car and pocketing his keys. Arthur followed along happily as the pair left behind the vehicle and hiked into the shade provided by the trees. They couldn’t have picked a better day for being outside—the air was light and fresh, the ground springy beneath them, and a few fat clouds floated across the sky. They were far enough away from the main section of the town that passing cars couldn’t be heard and if it weren’t for a distinct unfamiliarity in the trees around him, Arthur could almost fool himself to believe he was deep within his own territory instead of a small park. There was a well-maintained path that the two were following, made not of concrete like the others he had seen that day, but of soft pine straw. 

“The trees seem lonely,” Arthur suddenly commented, nearly colliding with Alfred when the student stopped short.

“What?!” Alfred shouted hoarsely, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

Arthur gave Alfred a strange look before blushing, realizing his words may have seemed strange to the human. “It’s this thing my mum once told me about the trees. Since we’ve always been surrounded by nature, almost all of our stories revolve around our environment. She told me that even though trees have a lot of friends all around them, they can never hug or offer comfort to one another. That’s why they have branches: to try and have some form of contact,” he broke off, wondering if Alfred was even remotely interested. Seeing the look of rapture on the human’s face, he finished his explanation. “I suppose at this time of year, I think of the trees as being lonely since the foliage is just barely returning after the cold months.”

Alfred looked around thoughtfully, absorbing what he had just been told. His dream from the other night made a little more sense… “I like that idea,” he said finally. Sparing a smile in the Naga’s direction, he kept walking, hearing Arthur begin to follow him seconds later. They continued along a path, admiring the natural peace that always seemed to accompany parks and occasionally stopping to pick berries from bushes. More like, Arthur would pick them and Alfred would wonder how Arthur could stand to eat the fruits when it was still so early in the season and they weren’t even close to being ripe. 

“This is nice, right?” Alfred asked after a while, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking hopefully at his friend. “Today, I mean.” Arthur allowed a smile to grace his features, finding the slight nervousness of the boy to be amusing.

“Yes, Alfred. This is lovely,” he admitted, pleased with his immediate reward of a happy noise from the human. 

“Great! ‘Cus I was worried, ya know? That you would decide you didn’t like the human world all that much or something.”

Arthur chuckled at the notion. “I don’t think that’s possible, Al.”

Alfred suddenly stopped in his tracks for the second time that day, whipping around to look at his companion. Arthur froze when he saw him stop walking, fearful that Alfred had detected another person nearby. 

“What did you just say?” Alfred asked with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape. 

“Umm…” Arthur faltered, hoping it hadn’t been weird to say how much he liked Alfred’s world. “I just meant that humans are very fascinating…”

Alfred shook his head. “No, I mean, what did you just call me?”

“Al?” Arthur said hesitantly. Was it not acceptable to shorten someone’s name for humans? Before the thought could go any further, however, Alfred was practically tackling him in a hug, forcing him to let out an _oof!_

“Nobody has called me that since middle school!” 

“Erm…” Arthur awkwardly tried to return to embrace. “Is it a…good thing then?”

Alfred picked his head up from where it was resting on Arthur’s shoulder and gave him a bright smile. “Yeah! I really like it!” he exclaimed. Arthur blushed at the proximity and gently extracted himself from the enthusiastic American’s grip, slithering away several feet and clearing his throat.

“Well I’ll keep that in mind, then.” He turned his head to see Alfred smiling off into the distance and took the opportunity to observe his friend. He really was quite attractive… Wait, what?!

“Hey, Arthur, look!” Alfred suddenly shouted, pointing out something next to the Naga’s head. Arthur turned, alarmed, but was only met with the sight of a butterfly fluttering several inches away from his face. He inhaled, feeling a silly, awe-struck smile spread over his features as it came closer and perched on his nose, causing it to tickle slightly. The two wings opened and closed lazily as Arthur watched Alfred approaching out of the corner of his eye, eventually kneeling down to be at face level with Arthur’s nose. The two locked wonder-filled eyes as carefully, Alfred reached out his hand, one finger extended, and tried to coax the butterfly away from Arthur’s face. As soon as Alfred made slight contact with its appendages, however, the majestic being hastily took flight and shattered the moment. 

“Damn,” Alfred muttered, looking disappointedly at the retreating insect and rising to his feet. “You still wanna keep walking? Er…slithering?” 

Arthur shrugged indifferently. “I suppose.”

Half an hour later, the pair had their fill of meandering through the park and decided to head back to the car. Much to Arthur’s displeasure, Alfred convinced him to put the shirt and hat back on, saying that they couldn’t go around without certain precautions. The only saving grace for the Naga was the blanket, which he found he was quite fond of and needed no prodding in order to happily nestle himself under it.

“You can keep that, you know,” Alfred said as he attempted to suppress his chuckles. Really, how could Arthur manage to look annoyed and pleased at the same time? 

Arthur’s eyes lit up at the proposition. “Really?” Alfred nodded. “Thank you so much! Er…I mean, it’s the least you can do after forcing me to wear the stupid clothing. I don’t have anything like this and it’s quite wonderful…”

This time, Alfred couldn’t help but release a small chuckle. “I’m glad you like it,” he said as he started up the car again. “What do you want to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur murmured absentmindedly, too absorbed in fingering the edges of the soft blanket to pay much attention. “It’s your town.” 

Alfred pouted, upset that a scrap of fabric was more interesting to his friend than he was. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, trying to come up with another idea. Something fun that didn’t involve them getting out of the car... “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed, putting the car in gear and pulling away from the park. “There’s one more thing around here you’ll enjoy.” At least that caught Arthur’s attention.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You’ll see,” Alfred said, winking playfully. 

Ten minutes later and Arthur was certain he never wanted to go back to his clan.

“What do you call this?” he said in amazement, looking out at a collection of cars that were clustered around what appeared to be a thin wall.

“It’s a drive-in movie theater!” Alfred explained happily. “They used to be super popular a few decades ago, but now you can rarely find them. Most theaters are indoors. Lucky for us, this town is pretty old-fashioned!”

“Movie…” Arthur repeated to himself, trying to recall the word. “You told me about that. Those are the captured people, yes?”

Alfred grinned at the phrasing. “Not exactly captured. They are just recorded while acting in order to tell us a story that’ll play on the screen up there.”

“Fascinating,” Arthur breathed, staring intently at what he guessed was the screen. “So what exactly do we do?” 

“Just sit here, pretty much. A guy will come around once the movie starts and collect money. ‘Til then, I’m gonna go get some snacks!” Alfred gave a thumbs up as he hopped out of the car, hurrying off in the direction of the concession stands. Arthur watched him go, feeling rather giddy about the whole thing. He could see other people milling around the few dozen cars parked in the large grassy lot, presumably headed for the same thing as Alfred. He marveled, not for the first time that day, at the sheer variety of everything around him. He didn’t understand the need for cars of every shape, size, and color imaginable, but they were fun to look at nonetheless. More so, he loved to see the different types of clothing everyone wore. Although he didn’t enjoy having to wear the shirt and hat, he could appreciate them on others. He rather liked the way some wore open things Alfred had called “skirts” while some wore articles that clung to both legs, called “pants”. 

When Alfred returned, it was with a massive armload of food and a robust “Check it!” Arthur sniffed in disdain at the snacks that were undoubtedly devoid of any nutrition whatsoever as Alfred somehow managed to fit them all in the area between their seats. 

“Say hello to popcorn, hot dog, ice cream, and candy bar!” Alfred said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together. “Trust me, after you’ve tried this, you’ll have officially been introduced to the best foods America has to offer.”

Arthur looked skeptically at the food. “If you say so…” His sensitive nose was protesting the sheer amount of butter and fat coating everything, but it seemed as if the candy was acceptable. Just as he was about to reach over and pluck something out of the pile, however—

“Shit!” 

Arthur looked over at his companion, withdrawing his hand from the food suspiciously and raising his eyebrows at the outburst. Alfred had a panicked expression on his face and his hands had flown into his hair, staring at something off in the crowd.

“Something wrong?” Arthur asked in a monotone voice.

Alfred nodded, releasing his hair with one hand and pointing to something outside the car. “See those two people over there? The girl and guy now walking over here?” His words were rushed, worried.

Arthur followed the direction of Alfred’s finger and spotted what he assumed was the pair of people indicated: one guy with silver hair holding the hand of a girl with long, brown hair.

Alfred didn’t wait for Arthur’s statement of having seen them. “Those are two of my close friends, Elizaveta and Gilbert. Ah, man! I didn’t think they’d be here tonight,” he whined before looking at Arthur to make sure nothing suspicious was showing. “Just let me do the talking. Even though it’s getting dark out I wouldn’t want to risk them seeing your teeth.”

“Alright…you think they will stay long?” The two were almost at the car by this point.

“No,” Alfred said after a moment of thought, “they’ll wanna get back to their date. Just…act natural!” He proclaimed as a bit of last minute advice as he rolled his window down to talk to his friends. Arthur snorted, wishing he could reply that if he was acting natural, he sure as hell wouldn’t be wearing the shirt and hat, let alone be sitting in a car about to watch a movie.

“Hey, Alfred! Didn’t expect to see you here,” the boy—Gilbert, Arthur assumed—greeted.

Alfred smiled at his friends. “Yeah, well, same can be said to you two!” Arthur tried to make himself smaller under the blanket, half hoping they wouldn’t notice him and ask questions like Alfred seemed to fear and half hoping they would so he could talk to new humans.

The silver-haired boy shrugged. “We just felt like going out again after last night and this movie is supposed to-”

“Oh my god!” Elizaveta cut him off with a loud squeal. All three boys winced at the shrill tone. “Are you Arthur?” 

Arthur peered around Alfred to smile at the cheerful brunette. He was about to answer in the affirmative when he remembered Alfred’s request to do all the talking so the others wouldn’t notice his sharp front teeth.

“The one and only!” Alfred responded for him nervously. Elizaveta’s smile widened ten-fold and Arthur thought that if it had gotten any bigger, her jaw may have broken. Practically pushing Gilbert away from the window, Elizaveta leaned forward and thrust her hand across Alfred in order to reach the passenger seat. 

“Alfred has been quite secretive about you, the little dog! It’s so wonderful to meet you in person,” she enthused. Luckily, Alfred had shown him how to shake hands before, so Arthur clasped her hand as normally as possible and bobbed it up and down. 

“Likewise,” he managed to get out in order to avoid seeming rude and trying to move his lips as little as physically possible. He watched her face carefully for any sign that she had noticed his teeth and thankfully found none. Releasing his hand, Elizaveta withdrew herself from the car and smoothed her shirt of ruffles caused by her maneuver. Gilbert waved from his position near the window, unwilling to throw himself essentially across Alfred’s lap as his date had just done. Arthur didn’t like the mischievous glint in their eyes.

Apparently, neither did Alfred. “Yup, well it’s cool you guys got to meet him. Hope you enjoy the show,” he said abruptly, clearly trying to get them to leave. It seemed for a moment as if they may, but then something caught Gilbert’s attention.

“Hey, isn’t that your shirt, Alfred?” he asked, pointing at the article on Arthur’s torso. 

“Um, yeah?” Alfred said without looking, for once cursing the lifetime of friendship that allowed the albino to pick up on things like that.

“Interesting.” Gilbert smirked, sharing a look with Elizaveta.

“Indeed,” finished the brunette, covering a wicked grin behind one hand. 

“Yup,” Alfred stated awkwardly, biting his lip between his teeth. He started tapping his hands on the steering wheel—a nervous or thoughtful habit, Arthur noticed. The four of them remained silent for several moments, two in glee and the other two in apprehension. 

“Well, I hope you two enjoy the movie,” Elizaveta said before winking and walking away. Gilbert turned to follow her, but not before leaning down and whispering something into Alfred’s ear that caused him to blush a brilliant, vibrant red and produce a noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a squeak.

When the pair had walked a safe distance away, Alfred rolled up the window and quietly returned to devouring the obscene pile of food. Arthur debated momentarily about asking what Gilbert had said, but figured that if Alfred wanted him to know, he would tell him.

"They seemed nice,” Arthur said conversationally. Alfred gave him a partially forced smile as he bit into something rectangular and brown.

“Yeah,” was the only reply on the subject of his friends. After a moment, Alfred held out whatever he had just been eating. “Want some chocolate?”

Nearly three hours later, Arthur discovered several things. First and most important: chocolate was the most amazing thing ever created. He hadn’t even encountered half the things that had been created, but it didn’t matter because nothing could ever beat the delicious, sweet chunk of divinity. Second: “hot dogs” were a sorry excuse for food. Third: people apparently dedicated lots of time and energy into making movies solely for the purpose of wowing an audience with fire, explosions, and cars crashing together. Fourth: Alfred absolutely adored this kind of movie. Finally: Despite not being able to follow what was supposed to be happening (although, Arthur suspected that there wasn’t much to follow anyway), Arthur kind of enjoyed them too.

When the movie was over and words moved across the screen to list who had been involved in making it, Arthur and Alfred reluctantly agreed that Arthur needed to be getting back. It was getting pretty late in the evening and the Naga was doubtful that nobody in his clan had noticed his absence throughout the entire day as it was: prolonging his time away would only make it worse. As they drove back across the town to the woods near Alfred’s university, Arthur wondered if he would able to simply return to his everyday life. Now that he knew what was really out there in the world, his existence in his clan’s territory seemed duller than ever. There were so many things he had seen and learned about since that morning and he knew that it was only a small fraction of what was out there in the rest of the world. He wanted to try more foods, he wanted to see more movies, he wanted to go inside buildings and meet more people and travel around to different towns, areas, countries and try new things and..and—and!

“We’re here,” Alfred said gently as he pulled his car alongside the woods. Arthur pulled himself from his inner thoughts, quickly pulling off his hat and shirt to hand them to Alfred. “Want me to walk you to our rock?”

“No, that’s fine. You should be getting back to your dorm,” Arthur replied, gathering his new blanket into his arms. Alfred nodded before getting out of the vehicle and walking around to Arthur’s side. Once Arthur was placed safely onto the ground, he smiled at his friend through the darkness. “Thanks for today. It meant a lot to me,” he admitted.

“I know,” Alfred smiled. “I had a really great time.” 

Arthur nodded and looked down at the ground. Neither made any motion, unwilling to part.

“Meet you in the usual spot next Wednesday afternoon?” Alfred eventually asked.

Arthur nodded again, but still made no move to leave. 

“Have a safe trip back, Arthur,” Alfred said softly before suddenly leaning over and kissing Arthur gently on the cheek. Both froze at the unexpected contact; Alfred clearly had not realized what he was doing before he did it.

“I, Um—I…that,” Alfred stammered helplessly. “Sorry,” he settled on, blushing in mortification.

“It’s alright,” Arthur managed after several tense seconds. Drawing up to his full height, he still only came up to Alfred’s chest, so he pulled down on the boy’s shoulders until they were at eye level and returned to kiss to the cheek, enjoying how soft Alfred’s skin was under lips.

“There, now we’re even.” Laughing quietly at Alfred’s surprised expression, he slithered away to hide his own embarrassment, calling “goodnight, Al” over his shoulder as he went. Nearly three long minutes had gone by before he heard the distant rumbling of a car coming to life and pulling out of the parking lot.


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur was surprised at his own luck when he was able to make it back to his den without a single sighting of a pesky brother or any other member of the clan who might have noticed his disappearance. He berated himself for his bold move the entire way back, wondering if it had been creepy of him to kiss Alfred’s cheek…but then again, the human had done it first. Resolving to brush it off as nothing more than a random lapse in brain function on both of their parts, Arthur curled up in his nest with his new blanket that smelled faintly of junk food and humans (or rather, one specific human). He could hear crickets chirping rhythmically somewhere outside of his den, an entire chorus of them producing vibrations. The sound that usually lulled him into a pleasant sleep now just seemed like one more reminder of the life he was forced to live. He wondered idly if it could really be possible that he was the only one in his clan having these kinds of thoughts. Maybe the others were blind to how boring their life was because they had mates and children to entertain them? 

Arthur curled his tail into a tighter protective circle to comfort himself, warding away thoughts on his lonely status. He reminded himself of the words Alfred had spoken when they discussed Naga mating a few days ago and how completely free of judgment the human had been. Smiling to himself and nuzzling his face into the blanket, Arthur finally allowed himself to drift off into a deep sleep, only to be awoken the next morning by a very obnoxious blond.

“Good morning, dear Arthur. What are you doing still sleeping?”

Arthur groaned and summoned the energy to raise a fist at the intruder—a gesture of complete hatred in Naga culture. “Go the fuck away, Francis.”

“Not a chance! I have grand news for you, plus you and I need to have a discussion,” the blue-tailed Naga declared in a smug tone. 

“Take your discussion and shove it up—”

“Arthur, that is no way to speak to your closest friend, am I right?”

Arthur huffed sleepily, running through the various ways he could get his unwanted visitor to leave. “Just tell me what you want and get out,” he said, finally removing his blanket from covering his head and sitting up to yawn. Realizing his mistake too late, Arthur froze and stared at the other with panic in his eyes.

“May I ask where you got that?” Francis asked with a raised brow, indicating the blanket with one elegant hand.

Shit, shit, shit. 

“None of your business,” Arthur growled in frustration. It was far too early in the morning to have to be dealing with such things.

“No? Then maybe you would care to explain where you went off to for the entire day yesterday?”

Arthur remained quiet, suddenly wishing that he had thought of an excuse beforehand. Although, he hadn’t exactly expected to be questioned so early. 

“Hmm?” Francis prompted. “Would it happen to be the same place you got all of your mysterious books?”

“Like I said, none of your business,” Arthur replied coolly, not bothering to make eye contact as he extracted himself from his nest and neatly folded his blanket up. He heard Francis sigh and move further into the room. 

“You were out of the boundaries again, weren’t you?” 

Arthur tensed, undoing his work and swatting at the fabric in random places in order to have something to do with his hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure that you do, Arthur. Is this all just a joke to you?” Francis suddenly snarled. “Does the safety of your clan mean nothing?”

Arthur instinctively cringed at the harsh tone, but didn’t show it as he turned around to meet an angry gaze. “My actions do not compromise the safety of this clan.”

“Really? What’s going to happen when one day you are spotted? What then?”

Arthur stubbornly refused to acknowledge the questions, instead crossing his arms over his chest and continuing to glare. 

“What if humans see you Arthur? You’ll get every one of us killed!” Francis continued to rant. It was rare for the other blond to raise his temper, unlike his green-tailed counterpart, but when it did happen it was with melodramatic gestures and over-the-top notions.

“They aren’t like that,” Arthur mumbled quietly. 

“What?” Francis questioned bewilderedly. “How would you know? You think watching one every now and then tells you anything?”

Arthur remained silent, knowing he had already said too much. It was crucial that Alfred was kept a secret from the rest of the clan if he ever wanted to see him again and he didn’t have to think very long to know that he very much so did. As much as it pained him to admit, he supposed that he had been rather careless with how often he had been going outside the safe zone. Alfred was obviously harmless and he wasn’t remotely afraid of other humans, but Alfred had insisted that some wouldn’t hesitate to harm him. Apparently mistaking Arthur’s silence for understanding, Francis continued. 

“You have always been too curious for your own good, Arthur,” he sighed. “I’m not going to turn you in this time,” Arthur looked up in hope, “but this cannot go on any longer. If I catch you leaving one more time, you’ll leave me with no choice.”

Arthur’s eyes widened in horror. “What, you’ll turn me in? Then what? It’s not like there has ever been a defined punishment for leaving the boundaries.”

“Don’t be the reason that there has to be,” Francis snarled. “You’ve got everything you could possibly want here with your clan. Is this about not having a mate? Because you certainly won’t find one by endangering all of our lives!”

“You’re wrong about them,” Arthur said lowly. “So bleeding wrong and you don’t even know it! You know nothing! Their world is everything ours could never hope to be; there is so much life, so much diversity, so much everything! They have machines that allow them to travel across entire oceans and images that move to tell a story. I would say that they have every kind of food and music imaginable, but that would be bloody pointless because you have no fucking clue! What lies inside our clan boundaries is so lacking that nobody even knows what they’re missing!” Arthur finished his rant, breathing heavily. He could tell that tears were beginning to prick at the corners of his eyes from getting worked up, but there was nothing he could do about it. 

Francis stood in shock with his mouth gaping unattractively, clearly not having expected Arthur to say anything of that sort. “Arthur, I’m afraid to ask, but…just how familiar are you with humans?”

“…That’s not something you need to know,” Arthur said after a moment. He was already kicking himself for his careless speech. He was supposed to be hiding his excursions with Alfred, not flaunting his knowledge in the face of someone who could get it all taken away. Francis sighed deeply and rubbed along his jaw absently, likely trying to come to terms with what he had just heard. 

“Alright,” he stated. “I’ve known you our entire lives and whether or not you may think it, I do consider you a dear friend. I will not tell anyone what I have just heard.” When Arthur perked up hopefully, he continued. “That being said, I meant it earlier. You may not leave the safe zone ever again. If I hear about it, I won’t hesitate to alert one of the elders and I know that they would not hesitate to punish you. Do you understand?”

Arthur could tell that he meant every word from the serious expression on his face. Looking down and biting his lip painfully to avoid letting out any choked sobs, he wondered what would happen if he said no. God, did he want to, he wanted to tell him that he would do as he pleased and that there wasn’t a punishment the elders could inflict to make his life worse anyway, but Francis was technically his elder by one year and if that didn’t give him superiority, then his mated status sure as hell did. He had no choice in the situation. 

“Yes,” he managed to get out, hoping his voice didn’t sound too strained. 

Francis waited to make sure his message was sinking in before responding. “Good. You are meant to enjoy the life you were born into, Arthur. Accept it, move on, and everyone will be happier.” 

Arthur clenched his fists, continuing to study the floor of his den instead of meeting the eye of the man he hated. He felt every cell in his body passionately disagreeing with everything Francis had just said; it wasn’t true, couldn’t be true! He refused to believe that individuals were born simply to roll over and take whatever fate dropped into their laps. There had to be more…he wasn’t meant for this life.

“Now, as for the news I came to tell you. Angelique is pregnant again! I announced it to the clan yesterday, so everyone was fussing over her and didn’t notice your absence.” Arthur cringed at the further reminder of how abnormal he was. He couldn’t even muster the energy in that moment to summon a false smile for the man. 

He heard Francis sigh as if Arthur was some petulant child who was pouting for not being able to have the last of the annual clan feast. “Don’t make me out to be the villain, Arthur. I’m just protecting you and the ones I love. Good day.” With that, he finally turned and slithered past Arthur’s door flap and away to ruin the day of someone else.

Upon finding himself mercifully alone once more, Arthur immediately turned around and clutched his blanket to his chest, inhaling deeply. He was dismayed to find that it no longer seemed to give the same sense of comfort that it had the day before. He shivered slightly from the cool morning air wafting in from the outside, wondering how exactly his life had been turned so upside down in the matter of a couple of weeks. Helplessly, he looked around his den to find something to do with himself, but continued feeling lost. How could he possibly never leave the boundaries or see humans again?

He needed his mother.

Luckily, her den that she now lived in with just Arthur’s younger brother Peter was nearby. It had been a couple of days since he had last seen her and he could tell this was one of those situations that required the wisdom that only a mother could provide. Decision made, Arthur wiped any stray tears that had escaped without his permission off his face and squared his shoulders, ready to face the outside. 

As he exited his den, he was surprised by the sheer lack of the other members of his clan that should have been out sunning themselves or preparing to go hunting or even voyaging to the river they used for water and bathing. Instead, there were only a couple older Naga chatting on a rock and a group of children playing together. How late had he slept in exactly? Shrugging it off, he carried on down the worn path smoothed into the dirt from use. His mother’s den was almost immediately within view, only being a few dens down from his own. This was the den he had grown up in and was significantly larger than his current one since it used to house both her, Arthur’s father that had passed away several years ago, and an entire gaggle of boys. It was always a welcome feeling to visit his mother and return to the place he had been raised. 

His mother met him at the door, apparently having expected his visit. She was a beautiful woman once, and traces of that beauty still peaked through in her older age with long, blond hair that was now streaked with gray. Instead of making her look elderly, the strands of gray and slight wrinkles around her eyes and mouth merely made her appear modest and wise. Her brilliant green eyes remained the same as the day she was born and passed them on to most of her children, including Arthur. Holding the door open for him and smiling knowingly, Elise Kirkland moved aside to allow her outcast son into her home.

As soon as he was inside the den, he turned around and flung himself into his mother’s awaiting arms. A lifetime of raising six boys had taught her patience; she didn’t ask what was wrong just yet, instead electing to hold her son and rub slow circles into his back as he failed to keep himself together. Arthur hated crying—had ever since his brothers teased him for being too sensitive when he was younger—but the awe he had felt yesterday in sharp contrast to the devastating news Francis had delivered to him not an hour ago was too much. Allowing the comforting floral scent of his mother to wash over him, Arthur burrowed his face into her shoulder for several minutes until he felt he was calm enough to form coherent sentences to provide the poor woman an explanation.

As he drew back, she eyed him with a mixture of pity and concern, resting her hands on his shoulders in case he wasn’t yet finished. Wiping his eyes, Arthur sniffled one final time and took a deep breath in preparation for his confession.

“Mum…” he trailed off, afraid of how she would react. “What do you do when you know someone is wrong about something important?”

From the fractional raising of her eyebrows, this was apparently not what she had been expecting. Experience had taught her, Arthur knew, that he only came to her in total distress after a solid bullying from his brothers and their talks after he finished crying would usually include him ranting angrily while she tried to convince him that it was all out of love.

“Well,” she started carefully, “I suppose you should try and prove it.”

Arthur sighed. This was more difficult than he had expected, having realized that without explicitly telling his mother about his experience with humans, her advice would be half-useful at best. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her; on the contrary, he would love nothing more than to have been able to spill out the events of the last couple of weeks right then and there. However, his mother was nothing if not set in her ways about humans. She was the one who had tried to teach him to fear them and she would be nearly as bad as Francis if she ever discovered that he left the clan boundaries. 

“But what if you know that would never work?” he asked miserably. “What if everyone you know is wrong about something, but they are too afraid of the evidence?”

His mother gave him a long look, likely trying to decode the meanings behind his cryptic hypothetical speech. Her light green tail twitched perplexedly. “Sweetie, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you should face whatever it is that’s bothering you.” she said finally. “If you truly believe there is no reason for them to be afraid, then you should prove it.”

Arthur wrenched his head to the side to avoid having her see the pained expression that crossed his face. It was just so frustrating that he couldn’t tell her what he was talking about. He knew that if he could tell her the situation, her advice would be completely different. If he did what she was telling him to, she would react just like everyone else and become a hypocrite to her own words. He loved his mother dearly, but resented the fact that she was set in her ways. 

“Arthur, talk to me,” she pleaded gently, rubbing along his arms in a manner that had worked many times before to coax him into discussing his problems. This was different, though. He couldn’t talk about this…right? That thought gave him pause. Francis already had an inkling about what he had been doing while away; he was Arthur’s biggest threat. This was his mother…surely he could confide a little in her? 

“I’ve been thinking a lot about humans,” he said carefully. The hands on his shoulders instantly halted their comforting movements and even though his face was still turned away so that he could not see her reaction, her sharp intake of breath told him enough.

“Oh?” she said weakly. “Why would you be doing that?” The way she asked the question indicated that she was afraid of the answer. 

“I just…” Arthur let out a sigh of pent up frustration. “What evidence has there ever been that we should fear them?”

His mother frowned. “They are not like us. Isn’t that enough?”

“No!” he all but shouted. He felt a stab of guilt when his mother instinctively cringed back slightly, but repressed it for the sake of getting information. “First of all, they are more like us than you could imagine. Really, the only differences are physical. And just because two things are different does not mean they should fear each other!”

His mother was now giving him the same wary look Francis had exhibited that morning and Arthur began to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake in confiding with her. All he seemed to be accomplishing was digging himself further into a pit of suspicion from his clan and he couldn’t afford to lose the trust of the one woman that had always been there for him. 

“Arthur, honey…humans really are not like us. I don’t know what has brought this up all of a sudden, but believe me, they are a much more primal species than us. They act on instinct alone and their instincts would automatically consider us a threat. We have no evidence of their danger, but we should keep it that way. Just trust me, okay?” she finished with pleading emerald eyes. He could tell that she was concerned for him and worried about what was fueling his questioning. He loved her dearly; he would hate to be a cause of her stress. Besides, this was beginning to sound like his conversation with Francis and he didn’t need a reminder of his predicament.

“Okay, mum,” he said without meeting her eyes. Now feeling dejected and realizing that his visit had accomplished nothing—and in fact may have put him back several steps in the long run—he decided to change the track of the conversation. “Where’s Peter?”

At this, her eyes lightened considerably. “He’s off with a friend teasing some cute girl. He’ll grow up to be quite a rascal, don’t you think?”

Arthur snorted. Wonderful: even his little brother had more of a love life than he did. If that wasn’t just the icing on the cake to this horrid day, he didn’t know what was. Later, he would need to seek out his little brother and congratulate him on learning to flirt at a young age, but for now all he really wanted to do was spend a few hours talking with his mother as if there was nothing wrong with his life. 

Thankfully, pretending turned out to be fairly easy once his mother offered him tea. What he would do without the wonderful invention of heating some herbs in water over a fire he hoped to never have to find out. Did humans drink this stuff? If they didn’t, he may actually need to reconsider his opinions on them. As he laughed and talked to his mother about Francis’ upcoming child, he even forgot for a while that he had to go home to an empty den. That had always been one of the many superpowers of his mother: making him feel as if he belonged. He knew he had been a difficult and strange child (and had grown into a difficult and strange adult), but she loved him dearly nonetheless. After a couple hours of talking and sipping their beverages, he suggested that they go hunting together. It had been a while since they had gone just the two of them, and his young sense of hearing combined excellently with her experience managed to garner them a fine meal that they ate with relish.

“Stay here for the night,” she suggested after they had finished their dinner. “I know there is something troubling you deeply and I won’t ask you to confide in me, but perhaps you would feel better after spending a night in your old room?”

Smiling gratefully, he conceded. Not long afterwards, Peter returned home with a childish and mischievous glint in his eye, proudly announcing the frustration of the girl that he had been after all day. He and Arthur exchanged playful banter for the rest of the evening (“you always come crying home to mommy!” “At least I’m not some sniveling brat”) and soon enough, Arthur found himself curled up in the now too small nest of his childhood.

His evening with his mother and brother had kept his mind busy, away from the reality of not being able to sneak away anymore. Now that he was alone in a room and the rest of the large den was quiet, the thoughts immediately surged to the forefront of his mind, attacking his emotions and causing him stress. He knew he had a decision to make by Wednesday that could affect the rest of his life. Although, given some thought, Arthur realized that it wasn’t much of a decision at all. He could say with absolute certainty that he didn’t want to live the rest of his life having a lonely existence within his clan repeating the same basic activities day after week after month until he was too old to remember the way back to where he lived. That sort of life held no appeal to him, especially after he had seen a fraction of what was out there in the human world. He yearned to return to that and there was only one way that was possible. No matter the cost, he was simply going to have to find a way to sneak away so that Francis didn’t notice.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

Alfred awoke on Sunday morning with a rather content feeling bubbling up inside of his chest. He didn’t have to wonder for very long to remember the reason: Arthur. He smiled sleepily just from thinking the name. After getting back last night, he had waltzed into his dorm room knowing that he was grinning like a fool and he couldn’t be bothered to care, even when Matthew shot him a suspicious look and tried questioning him. No, he didn’t care about that, not when he could still feel Arthur’s lips on his cheek. Why was this even making him so happy? He had never reacted like this to someone before. 

When he had finally rolled out of his bed and gone down to the dining hall for a late breakfast, he was welcomed by a table of his friends cat-calling (Gilbert and Elizaveta), giving him congratulatory expressions (Matthew, Kiku, and Toris), or emitting a disturbing aura (Ivan). Walking up to them and pulling out a chair, he raised his brow inquisitively. 

“What’s up guys?”

“Did you have fun last night?” Gilbert, never one to beat around the bush, asked without hesitation.

All eyes were glued to him, causing Alfred to shift rather uncomfortably in his seat. “Uh, yeah! It was great!” He could tell more information was expected from him by the way glances were exchanged around the circle, but wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to say. Matthew, however, came to his rescue.

“I can confirm that he came back last night at a respectably early time by himself,” he offered. Gilbert and Elizaveta immediately donned matching disappointed expressions.

“What, seriously? So nothing happened after we saw you guys?” Elizaveta pried.

“More importantly, did you follow my advice about the condoms?” Gilbert added.

“What?! No!” Alfred said frantically, feeling his face turn the same shade of red it had last night when Gilbert had whispered his ‘advice’ into his ear at the theater. “Nothing happened! I just drove him home.”

“Why was he wearing your shirt?” Gilbert asked, trying a different tactic.

“Oh, uh…” Alfred started, eyes widening. He hadn’t even thought to have an excuse for that. “He spilled soda on it and I happened to have a spare in my car.” Thanking his quick thinking, he hoped desperately that Matthew wouldn’t be overly aware of the location of all his clothes. Luckily, everyone seemed to accept the explanation.

“Are you going to see him again?” Kiku joined in the questioning.

“Yup, later this week!” Alfred said happily. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew what his friends were implying about him and Arthur. He was simply choosing to ignore it because he was too unsure of his own feelings to have any kind of serious thought on the matter quite yet. Not only that, but this was completely new territory for him. He hadn’t even had a new friend since that one time in high school when he had tried to invite over some short guy named Tony and that had ended with his mother chasing him away with a broomstick.

“I’d like to meet him,” Ivan suddenly said. Everyone around the table nodded enthusiastically, looking to Alfred expectantly.

“Uh, maybe,” he answered vaguely, knowing full well that it could never happen. 

After that, his friends seemed to accept that they had gotten all of the information out of him that they were going to and went back to their food and previous conversations. Alfred took that as his cue to get up and retrieve his own breakfast, feeling strangely as if he had just dodged a bullet. Wondering how Arthur’s day was going, Alfred settled in for the long wait to Wednesday.


	9. Chapter 9

“Angelique,” Arthur called to the retreating figure of Francis’ mate. He had just slithered out the door of his den to go searching for her when he happened to spot her sleek, dark hair she kept back in two strands with woven ties in the distance. Upon hearing her name, she paused in her advancements down one of the paths and turned to greet him with a smile. She was a very kind woman with dark eyes, hair, and skin that was a commodity among the lightly colored clan. It was easy to see why Francis had taken her as a mate with her distinct features and helpful personality that allowed Arthur to feel comfortable coming to her for assistance.

“Hello, Arthur,” she greeted, automatically resting a hand on her newly pregnant stomach despite the fact that she wouldn’t be showing for a couple more months. Her natural maternal instincts were another attribute that had caused Francis to fall for her. There had been a time in Arthur’s life when he knew that he had been the one to capture Angelique’s attention and according to his mother he could have mated with her if he so wished. That was the problem, he supposed: he had never had a desire to mate with anyone. Really, it was his own fault that his brothers teased him so mercilessly.

Arthur closed the distance between them, looking around the area surreptitiously to make sure that there would be nobody to overhear their conversation. He had been thinking long and hard on how he could sneak away to see Alfred without Francis noticing and now that it was Wednesday morning, it was time to put his plan into action. 

“I need a favor,” he cut straight to the point. He didn’t have the time for small talk at the moment and although he wouldn’t have minded chatting with her on a normal day, he was on a mission. She raised her brow inquisitively, but remained silent in indication that he could continue with his request. “I need you to pretend to be nesting today and keep Francis busy.” 

At this, her eyes widened in surprise. It was an unusual request, he knew, but it was the easiest way he could think of to make sure Francis was too occupied to pay attention to Arthur’s presence (or lack thereof). Nesting was something Naga females often did when they were getting close to delivering their children. It was a period in which the mother-to-be would fuss over every possible detail in the den, demanding that their mates bring them various things in order to craft the den to perfection. It was also a period infamous for being extremely tiring to the males, leaving them with no time to do anything but carry out the demands of the females. If Arthur wanted Francis distracted, this was the perfect way to do it.

“Why?” came the natural question. Arthur knotted his fingers anxiously; he knew that Angelique was kind and always willing to help, but when the request was so personal to her there was a chance she would be put off. 

“I just need a day where I don’t have to deal with him,” he replied. He figured half-truths were his best bet in this situation, as he couldn’t reveal what he was really trying to do and Angelique was all-too-familiar with the animosity that had plagued his relationship with Francis since childhood. 

Smiling slightly, she removed one hand from her belly to toy at the ends of her hair. “I would be happy to help you, Arthur, but he’ll be suspicious of why I’m nesting so early.”

“I know,” he admitted, “but he’ll also believe you without too much hesitation. Just make sure to be very demanding, alright? Keep him busy.”

“I can do that,” she said devilishly. “When do you want me to start?”

“Now, if possible,” he instructed. “And keep him busy until late tonight.”

“You’ll owe me one,” she said seriously.

“Understood,” he replied, giving her a final nod as he became aware of another Naga entering the area. He moved away before they came upon their discussion. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to be talking with someone, but he wasn’t going to make any more careless mistakes when it came to going to the human world and it never hurt to leave no witnesses. Even if Angelique didn’t understand his motives, he knew that he could trust her to carry out their deal. 

Returning to his den to bide his time until he could sneak away, he decided to curl up in his nest and take a small nap. It was common for Naga to return to their dens periodically for a nap and if he wanted to make this successful, he had to act as natural as possible and carry on exactly as he normally would. He needed this plan to work. Sure, it had occurred to him in the last couple of days that his plan was only a (very) temporary solution to the problem, but he couldn’t think of any other alternatives and with any luck, Alfred would have some ideas. 

His internal alarm clock alerted him when it was time to wake up from his nap in the early afternoon. With swift actions, he immediately folded up the blanket he had subconsciously begun to cuddle in his sleep and headed outside of his den. The sun had risen high in the sky by that time, so the majority of his clan were out sunning themselves on the large, flat rocks that littered the area. Since he was being as careful as possible, Arthur turned and headed down one of the most common hunting trails, being sure to remain in plain view of a large cluster of elders. Until that point, he had been going down a lesser-used trail that simply led to the outskirts of the safe zone. He realized now how foolish that had been of him, especially without a proper reason for his actions. Using the popular hunting trail would garner no suspicions, as it was perfectly normal for Naga to slither away at this time and catch some food. 

Thankfully, he was familiar with this trail and knew that if he followed it far enough, it would eventually cross over with the same one that led to the clan border and he could safely exit without being seen. He would take every precaution possible this time and to his relief he made it to the clearing with the triangular rock without a hitch. Everyone in his clan would think he had gone hunting so long as he didn’t stay out for too long. 

When Alfred arrived shortly after, he didn’t miss the way both of their faces lit up with ecstatic smiles upon seeing the other. Arthur knew much about body language; it was one of the primary forms of communication among his kind. He wasn’t sure how to feel about his own expressions in this scenario, but he decided immediately to ignore it and school his features back into their usual grumpy form. Moments after accomplishing this, Alfred jogged across the clearing to close the distance between himself and the perched Naga and surprised both of them by practically tackling him in a hug. Arthur’s eyes widened, bracing himself for the impact and hoping the force wouldn’t knock him right off the rock.

“Arthur!” Alfred greeted enthusiastically. Arthur fumbled momentarily, unsure as to exactly how he was supposed to respond to the unexpected display of affection. After a moment, he simply mirrored the human’s actions and draped his arms around his friend’s neck to return the embrace. 

“Someone’s happy to see me,” Arthur joked. Alfred chuckled and tightened his grip momentarily before pulling away.

“Of course I am,” Alfred chirped. He looked as if he had run the entire way there with the way he was panting and wiping sweat off his face while managing to maintain a blinding grin.

Arthur hid his own smile behind a hand as Alfred climbed onto the rock to sit next to him. Yes, after the past couple of days of stress and worry, it was wonderful to be back here with Alfred and not fret over the scrutinizing eye of his clan. Recalling the reason he had had to go to such great cautions today, Arthur’s smile immediately fell to be replaced by a discontent frown.

“What’s wrong?” Alfred asked immediately, for once being attentive. Arthur huffed and locked eyes with his friend.

“We have a problem,” he stated bluntly, but grew flustered upon realizing what he had implied and hurried to correct himself. “I-I mean, I have a problem, you don’t have to do anything about it…I wouldn’t want to drag you into anything.”

“Hey,” Alfred scolded lightly. “I’m your friend! If you have a problem, then I want to help.” Arthur relaxed gratefully at Alfred’s words. He should have known Alfred would be willing to assist him even if he didn’t have to. 

“Right, well, Francis—have I told you about Francis? He’s one of the wankers that loves to tease me—has noticed that I’ve been leaving the clan’s boundaries. He said that if he ever catches me sneaking away again, he’ll alert the clan elders. I’m not entirely sure what that would entail, but I doubt I want to find out. The only reason I could even come today was that I found a very temporary way to distract him, but it won’t work again…” he rushed out, his words becoming more hurried and upset as he went. 

Alfred’s eyebrows rose steadily with each passing sentence that the Naga uttered. He still didn’t know very much about the habits and culture of the Naga, but he had learned enough from Arthur to know that he was expressly forbidden from leaving the clan boundaries. Obviously, he had been doing it anyway, but Alfred hadn’t known that he could get in serious trouble for it. 

“So…what does this mean, exactly?” Alfred asked, hoping it wasn’t what he thought. 

“I’m…really not sure,” Arthur admitted. Realizing the truth in his words, he desperately locked eyes with Alfred. “I don’t know! I’ve been thinking about this for the past three days and I still have no reasonable solution.”

Alfred bit his lip anxiously. “Are you saying we can’t see each other anymore?”

Arthur remained quiet for several long, tense moments. He was semi-aware of the fact that he had begun to wring his hands together—an old distressed habit he thought he had kicked ages ago—but for the most part he had reverted into his own world to think deeply on the question that Alfred had just asked of him. He wanted to be able to say “of course we can still see each other” so badly that it was nearly a physical presence, but the truth was that—

“I don’t know,” he repeated miserably. “I’d be lying to you if I said that I did.” 

He internally cringed at seeing the look on Alfred’s face. The boy’s blue eyes immediately became wide and stunned, shining slightly with the faint gloss of tears, where his mouth was slightly opened and turned down. All in all, he looked as if he had just been told that his kitten was hit by a car and Arthur hated how loudly his mind screamed do something!  
“But I’m sure there has to be a way,” Arthur said quickly, tentatively reaching out a comforting hand to pat the human on the shoulder. He didn’t miss the irony of how he was the one trying to make Alfred feel better when it was him that actually had the problem. “If we put our heads together, perhaps we can find a solution.”

Alfred perked up instantly. “Of course we can!” he exclaimed as if he hadn’t just been on the verge of tears. “There is no way I’m going to let this Francis guy ruin our friendship!”  
Arthur smiled to himself at Alfred’s enthusiasm. Were all humans that easy to motivate? He had a feeling it was just an Alfred thing. “Right,” he confirmed. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot, though, and I haven’t thought of a single thing beyond just drowning the arse in the river. Actually,” he mused with an ominous grin, “that sounds like a right brilliant idea.”

“Erm…as a law-abiding citizen I feel the need to strongly discourage that course of action,” Alfred said nervously. 

Arthur deflated in disappointment. “Well then that leaves bringing you back with me to prove that you aren’t dangerous. Though,” he sighed, “that’s probably a terrible idea. If anyone but Francis saw you, I would have to explain that I had been leaving the boundaries and I would still end up getting punished. Not to mention the sight of you would probably cause the elders to die of heart attack.”

“Why do all of your suggestions involve death?” Alfred wondered aloud. “Are you sure there isn’t a way to keep tricking Francis so he wouldn’t notice when you left?”

“The thing about my kind is that we are constantly out and about. The clan is social and it’s strange in itself that I’ve been leaving for several hours every few days. Usually even if we go out hunting it’s in a group or at least with someone else. He’ll notice me leaving. The distraction I used today is a one-time-only kind of thing,” Arthur explained. 

“Well aren’t there any points in the day where everyone isn’t out? We could start meeting at other times…” Alfred offered hopefully.

Arthur tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. “No, not really. All day there is at least someone out sunning or hunting.” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “This just isn’t working!”

Alfred looked on helplessly as his friend visibly edged towards having a meltdown. “Hey, Arthur? What about when you guys sleep? You mentioned before that everyone sleeps at night, right?”

“Yes…” Arthur’s eyes lit up in comprehension. “Oh, that’s perfect! I could come see you at nighttime and then nobody would ever think I had left! Plus, it’s very normal for us to have a nap in the afternoon, so it wouldn’t be suspicious if I used that to catch up on missed sleep!” Feeling his chest inflate with newly kindled hope, Arthur smiled brightly at Alfred. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “But what about you? Could you leave the university at night?”

“Yeah, of course! I’ve always been more of a night person, anyway,” Alfred mused. “Plus, if we met up at night I could come see you more since it wouldn’t interfere with classes. And college is practically built for taking naps!” He returned Arthur’s smile, happy that he had been the one to put it there. He privately thought that the lack of sleep was likely going to kill him and his grades, but if it was truly the only way he could keep seeing Arthur, he wasn’t going to complain. 

Feeling as if everything would be alright for the first time since last Saturday, Arthur flopped back against the rock and looked up at the sky, wincing slightly from the bright sunlight. The rock was warm underneath him, making him feel a level of contentedness he hadn’t experienced in a good long while. He sensed more than saw Alfred lean back to lie next to him and tilted his head to look over at his companion.

“You have no idea how relieved I am,” he commented. “I’ve been so worried that I would be forced to live the rest of my life stuck with the clan.” He shuddered. “This needs to work. I can’t go back to that way of life now that I know what’s out there.”

Alfred sighed deeply beside him. “I get it. I wouldn’t want that for you, either. Just make sure to act like you aren’t tired from being out at night or else you’ll gain suspicion.”

“Obviously,” Arthur snorted. “If I ever get caught again, though, I can just walk into the human world and never look back. They can’t stop me.”

Arthur glanced curiously at Alfred when the human suddenly shot up from his relaxed position on the rock. 

“Arthur,” he began seriously, making the Naga furrow his brow. “You have to promise me to never actually do that.”

Arthur was confused into silence. He didn’t think he had ever heard that tone in the other’s voice before and it made him wonder if he had said something wrong. “What? Why?” he asked as he sat up to be level with the human.

Alfred took a deep, steadying breath before leaning closer and firmly grasping Arthur’s biceps. “You just can’t do that! It would be dangerous!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Arthur squawked, struggling to put some distance between their faces. Normally if he was manhandled, he would pull his arm back and sock whoever it was square in the nose, but he knew that he couldn’t hurt Alfred. 

“Arthur, not all humans are like me, okay?” Alfred said, squeezing Arthur’s arms lightly to punctuate his point. 

“Of course they aren’t,” Arthur scoffed. “It’s not like you’re the only human I’ve ever laid eyes on, after all.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Alfred said hurriedly, finally letting go of the Naga and leaning back with wide eyes. “You can’t just go out and show yourself to a crowd of people, okay? I know you think that humans are good and all that, but to be honest, you wouldn’t last ten minutes before someone called the government to take you to a lab for experiments or something.”

“What? No,” Arthur shook his head in disbelief. “That can’t be true. Humans are harmless!” 

“Some,” Alfred said in a sigh. “Some are fine and wouldn’t freak out, but a lot of them would be scared when they saw you,” he explained. “No offense!” he quickly added upon Arthur giving him a hurt look. “But you remember how I reacted the first time we met. It just wouldn’t be safe for you.”

Arthur stared into Alfred’s face, hopefully searching for a sign that the other was only kidding. Finding none, he looked down into his lap. “Oh,” he said simply. 

“I’m sorry that we aren’t what you thought,” Alfred said carefully. “That’s probably my fault. I’ve only been showing you good stuff, but believe me when I say that we can be a terrible species. But there really are some good humans that would accept you, like me! Just promise to not go charging into anything, okay?”

Arthur recalled all the words members of his clan had ever said to him about staying away from humans and every thought he had ever had about how wrong all of them were. Had he just been naïve the entire time? But no, he thought as he considered who he was talking to, Alfred is good. Alfred is more than good. Humans can’t be anything but a good species if Alfred is a part of them.

“I promise,” he said sincerely. His resolve for his promise solidified upon seeing the pure relief on Alfred’s face.

“Great,” Alfred breathed out. “Because I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. You’re a really good friend, Arthur.”

Arthur blushed and turned his face to the side to avoid Alfred’s gaze. “As are you. You’re really my only friend,” he admitted quietly, hoping his words wouldn’t be loud enough to reach the inferior ears of the human. That hope was immediately thrown out the window, however, when he felt himself being violently crushed into his second hug of the afternoon. This time, he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Alfred’s broad shoulders and bury his nose into Alfred’s neck, inhaling the scent of soap and sweat that lingered there. Why is this so comforting? Arthur wondered idly.

“Why are you so warm?” he said instead. Alfred chuckled against him and drew back so that Arthur could see his mischievous expression.

“Well,” he drawled, “there’s this thing called thermoregulation and it maintains my constant body temperature through chemical reactions and—” He cut off abruptly as Arthur decided to take back his earlier commitment to not hurting him and delivered a sharp punch to his upper arm, causing him to promptly fall back onto the rock in laughter. 

“You imbecile, if I had wanted a technical explanation, I would have asked for one!” he said irritably, but was fighting a smile.

Alfred grinned up at him. “Well, technically you did…”

Arthur pursed his lips and shoved Alfred half-heartedly as the boy burst into laughter and as he suppressed his own humor, he knew that everything would indeed be alright.


	10. Chapter 10

Nearly two hours later, Arthur had flown into a state of panic and announced that he had to get back before his supposed hunting session took longer than it should have. Alfred had naturally snickered and made a joke about Cinderella returning at midnight, but the humor fell flat on the Naga. They quickly agreed to meet at one in the morning the next night (allowing plenty of time for Matthew to fall asleep) and said their goodbyes, which involved several awkward moments of fumbling around in indecision about whether they should hug or shake hands and Alfred had even thought for a moment that he should kiss Arthur on the cheek again. Eventually, they shared pitiful smiles and gave up, turning and walking in opposite directions without a proper goodbye. 

Late afternoon found Alfred making the hike back through the woods to his dorm, cursing himself for his own social ineptitude.

“I don’t get it,” he informed a tree. “How can we go from easy conversation to that?!” Alfred glared deeply when the tree didn’t respond. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Alfred pondered the relationship he had with his friend. It wasn’t like his other friendships, he realized. Could that be just because Arthur wasn’t fully human? Somehow, he didn’t think that was the case if the random fluttery sensations he got when around him were anything to go by.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn’t really hug his friends. Ivan was an easy one to understand and Toris and Kiku hated hugs, but the rest of his friends probably wouldn’t mind. And he definitely didn’t kiss his friends on the cheek. Arthur was…special. But how? Alfred kicked out at a fallen log in frustration. Why was thinking about this so difficult?

When he returned to his dorm, he was dismayed to find that he still had almost an hour before dinner started. He had absolutely no clue where any of his friends would be at this time, so that left just trekking up to his room and possibly taking a nap to begin storing up on sleep for the coming nights. Matthew was in the room feeding Kumajiro (he had finally gone back to the labs to look up the name since he had forgotten) when Alfred arrived, glancing up and smiling in greeting before returning to stroking the back of the polar bear and coaxing some stolen burger patty into its mouth.

“Where were you?” Matthew asked absently.

“Ya know it’s like sacrilege to feed hamburger to a polar bear,” Alfred said with horror, “and I was out with a friend.”

Matthew spared him a knowing look. “Arthur?”

Alfred hummed in confirmation before climbing up onto his bed and burrowing beneath the covers, still fully clothed. He listened to the sounds of his favorite food being consumed by his newest roommate for a couple of minutes, staring up at the ceiling and returning his train of thought to his previous ponderings. Suddenly, he rolled over onto his side and faced his brother. 

“Hey…Mattie?” he called. Matthew looked up from the feeding and gave him a look to let him know that he was listening. “What’s it like to fall in love?”

To say that Matthew looked surprised at the question would be an understatement. After nearly dropping the hamburger patty and struggling to catch it, he stared up at Alfred for several long moments. He seemed to finally see something in Alfred’s eyes, because a giddy, blissful expression washed over his face. 

“Well, I’m not really the best person to ask about this, but…it’s not some big dramatic thing like movies make it out to be. It’s your eyes getting drawn to them no matter where they are; it’s sitting in comfortable silence. You feel a clenching in your stomach when around them, but it’s okay because it’s not a bad clench. Eventually, you realize that you believe in fairy tales again and that you would do anything if it meant you could stay together,” Matthew said with a dreamy look.

Alfred curled his fist into his bed sheets, feeling his breathing and heart rate falter, kick, and pick back up at a doubled pace. Comfortable silence…weird sensations in his stomach… willingness to go to great lengths to spend time with them… He gulped heavily, realizing how familiar all of that was sounding. He wanted to laugh at the cliché explanation, but it was making a lot of sense. 

“You start making lists with all the things you love about them,” Matthew continued. “Like their soft, white fur and their black eyes that just beg you to rescue them, or—”

“Matthew, what the fuck!” Alfred exclaimed, sitting up and glaring down at his twin brother. “You’re talking about your polar bear?!”

Matthew jumped from his perch on the floor, breaking out of his reverie and retracting the hand that had unconsciously reached out to stroke along Kumajiro’s back. “Heh…sorry, Al,” he said, giving a sheepish grin. “I told you I’m not really the best person to ask about this.”

Alfred huffed, flopping back down onto his mattress. Great, the one time he tried to talk to someone about his feelings and he couldn’t even be sure if the advice was legitimate. Stupid animal loving brothers…

“What I said still stands true, though,” Matthew assured. Upon receiving a look from Alfred, he scratched the back of his head, pulling an embarrassed face. “Well, minus the physical descriptions about fur and black eyes.”

Sighing in exasperation, Alfred rolled over and buried his face into his pillow. “Yeah…well thanks anyway, I guess.”

Matthew hummed in acknowledgement before finishing his routine feeding. It took several minutes, but Alfred’s question finally registered entirely on his mind. “Why were you asking about love? I think I know, but I want to hear it from you.”

Alfred tensed, having hoped his brother had been too absorbed in feeding his pet to have truly absorbed the conversation. He really didn’t want to have to talk about the things that were on his mind. After all, his friends already made a big enough deal out of the situation as it was. Deciding to feign sleep and hope Matthew wouldn’t bring it up again, Alfred remained silent until he heard his roommate snort in amusement and mutter irritably about people who could fall asleep quickly. It came as a relief to Alfred when he heard his brother rummage around for a moment and then exit the room entirely, leaving him to think over everything from the events of the last few weeks to the various signs in his life up to that point. 

The next day, Alfred had an afternoon lab with Ivan, which wasn’t exactly his favorite thing in the world. Usually, he wouldn’t have to interact with the hulking man, as his professor had a dedication to what she called “Mixed Partnership,” meaning that she would randomly choose everyone a new partner each week. Unfortunately, that week was Alfred’s turn with Ivan. 

“Privet Alfred,” Ivan greeted as he trotted over to their shared lab station. Alfred cringed at the use of the foreign language. After having been away from Russia for over a decade, one would think that Ivan would have phased the language out of his everyday vocabulary, but it had yet to happen. 

“Hey there, Ivan,” Alfred said, being as friendly as possible. It was always a mixed bag with Ivan. Often, their relationship was tense at best, although the two were friends deep down. “So what are we working on today?” he asked, looking over the lab instruction sheet provided by the professor.

“Just a basic experiment. We will be catalyzing a reaction and measuring the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide that result,” Ivan explained. 

“Cool,” Alfred said absent mindedly, shrugging and preparing to get to work. Ivan, however, had other ideas. 

“I have been hearing some interesting things about you having a boyfriend,” he casually mentioned as he set out the necessary equipment. Alfred nearly dropped his petri dish upon hearing the Russian’s words. 

“Woah what the fuck?” he exclaimed, turning his shocked gaze onto his frenemy. “Nobody said anything about a boyfriend!”

Ivan scratched his chin and looked off into the corner of the room. “Actually, Gilbert did. As did Elizaveta. Kiku also may have made a comment about it, but it was not so specific.”

“Wha-” Alfred stared in horror. “Why are they saying that?! Gah, they’re misinterpreting,” he assured, desperately trying to will away the blush he could feel appearing on his face. He could tell that Ivan was studying him meticulously, but he kept his eyes trained on his hands as he worked to add the enzymes into the dish. 

“Are you sure?” Ivan said eventually. “I have noticed you disappearing into the woods rather frequently recently. That is highly unusual for you.” 

Alfred froze momentarily, but forced himself back into action to avoid seeming suspicious. “What does that have to do with anything? I told you I’ve been working on a project.”  
Ivan hummed as he set up the measuring instrument. “Da, so you did. What exactly is your project, anyway?”

“Um,” Alfred mumbled, “It’s kind of secretive.” Hoping that Ivan would end his questioning there, he ducked his head away and avoided eye contact. 

“I see,” Ivan murmured. “I just find it a little strange that your new ‘friend’ and your experiment are coinciding and are both being kept so in the dark from the friends you have had all your life.”

Alfred gulped, feeling both his temper and his ‘oh shit’ instincts flaring up. “It’s none of your business, okay?” he snapped. “Seriously, just drop it.” Ivan looked as if he was about to say more, but at that moment someone across the lab dropped a tube of bacterium and caused a brief distraction, allowing Alfred to absorb himself more fully in the experiment. By the time Ivan had regained focus on their conversation, Alfred had managed to reach a crucial point and the two of them had to cooperate in order to carry out the procedures. Alfred spent the rest of the experiment in this manner, and thankfully Ivan didn’t try to bring the topic back up. 

As he left the lab nearly three hours after entering, Alfred felt himself breathe out a sigh of massive relief. It felt great to be out from under the watchful eye of his part-time rival. He couldn’t afford garnering suspicion, especially from someone as unstable as Ivan. If he wasn’t careful, he could accidentally reveal something about Arthur that could get the Naga hurt. 

Alfred passed the rest of the afternoon in his room studying for upcoming tests and completing various assignments. He figured that if he was going to be staying up all night, he should get ahead in his work so that the next day he could spend all his free time napping. His workload was steadily increasing after the start of the new semester and now it was reaching its peak before the final exams in late spring. It wasn’t exactly the most ideal time to become nocturnal in order to meet with his secretive friend, but it was the only way and therefore he would deal with it. 

Dinner that night was a rowdy affair, unusual for a Thursday night. It was passed in loud, obnoxious joking around (that Alfred was a rather large part of) and the occasional complaining about professors or various assignments. By the time everyone had returned to their rooms for the night and Matthew began getting ready for bed, Alfred had become a bundle of nerves and energy. 

For starters, he hadn’t considered up until the moment he was pretending to fall asleep what exactly sneaking out at night to see Arthur would entail. When they had been making the arrangements, he had thought of night only as a time when everyone would be asleep and oblivious to their escapades, but now he was realizing that night was actually dark and he would have to hike through the woods to get there and back and the mere thought of that was causing him to quake in terror. 

In addition, for some strange reason that he couldn’t identify, he was nervous about seeing Arthur, which was entirely irrational because they had met up several times and he hadn’t felt this way before. Even when they had first met and Alfred had still been concerned about whether or not he was about to get eaten, he hadn’t exactly felt anxious. With the way he had been mulling over his feelings for the past couple of days, he stressed over the silliest things and when Matthew was finally making soft snoring noises, the first thing he did was hop out of bed and rush into the bathroom he shared with the two people in the adjacent room to brush his hair.

He felt like a hundred teenage girls he had seen in the chick-flicks he sometimes watched with Gilbert and Matthew and the worst part was that he didn’t really care. When he emerged from the bathroom, he was relieved to still find Matthew curled up in a ball on his bed, Kumajiro snoozing softly at his feet. A glance at the clock informed him that he had half an hour to sneak out of his dorm and hike through the woods to meet Arthur. 

Grabbing a flashlight out of the emergency box Matthew insisted on having, he quietly crept out of the room and shut the door behind him. He could hear the various sounds of late-night dorm activities echoing throughout the hall and on his way to the commons area he passed one or two people moving between rooms. To his relief, he managed to exit the building without drawing attention to himself and quickly navigated towards the woods. Leaving the dorms at odd hours of the night was by no means forbidden, but Alfred didn’t want to take any chances by making it obvious that he had left. If any of his friends found out that he had gone to meet Arthur at this time of night, he would never hear the end of it.

Alfred shivered as he walked past the first trees. The moon was nearly full, so there was a sufficient amount of light for him to see in the parking lot, but once he entered the trees the canopy blocked nearly all of the light from reaching the forest floor. It made everything seem incredibly eerie even with the flashlight, especially because he could hear an owl hooting somewhere off in the distance and a slight breeze made everything around him seem to be moving. For a brief moment, he stopped walking and peered around him, wondering if he would be better off just returning to the safety of his dorm. He had never done very well in scary situations, especially when he had to face them alone. 

_But you’re not alone,_ a voice inside of his head whispered. _Somewhere inside of these woods is your friend waiting for you._ With that thought in his mind, he mentally slapped himself for even considering leaving and continued trekking through the woods. 

When he got to the clearing, he was relieved to see that the trees didn’t block out any of the moonlight, so he turned off his flashlight and climbed up onto the triangular rock to wait for Arthur. Now that he no longer had the focused goal of getting there, being by himself in the dark was starting to make him antsy. Although the story Ivan had told him about half-snakes no longer scared him as it did before he met Arthur, he couldn’t help but think of other things that could be lurking around.

What if a serial killer was wandering through the forest and glimpsed him sitting out there in the open? It could easily sneak up behind him and kill him before he even knew what was happening. Alfred glanced nervously around himself in a circle to make sure he actually was alone. He thought back to the pepper spray hidden safely in the emergency box under his bed, wishing he had brought that along with him. Would a serial killer use a knife to slit his throat? Or maybe just shoot him in the head? Nah, guns were too loud. What about a chainsaw? They could totally—

“Waaagh!” Alfred shrieked as he fell off the rock. Flailing his arms to ward off whatever had just touched his shoulder, he pleaded and tried to shield his vital areas from attack. “Please don’t kill me; I’m just a college student!”

“Wha-Alfred, are we really back to this again?” a voice scolded. Through his panic, Alfred thought that he detected a very familiar yet unexplainable English accent. Slowly lowering his arms to get a better view of his supposed attacker, he realized that the accent was indeed very familiar and that he was actually not being brutally murdered at all.

“Oh, hey Arthur,” Alfred said, feeling rather stupid. 

“Hello,” Arthur responded, positioned on the ground next to Alfred with his tail curled around in a circle and his arms crossed over the other. “Finished having a meltdown, I presume?”

“Heh,” Alfred said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Sorry about that,” he apologized, standing up and brushing himself off. “I get kinda skittish in the dark.”

“I can see that,” Arthur mused. Alfred offered a modest smile while rubbing one of his feet along the ground. Neither of them able to come up with something to say, a slightly awkward mood became prevalent that caused them to look down at the ground instead of at each other. 

After a moment, Alfred broke the silence. “So, did you get here okay?”

“Yes, I did,” Arthur answered proudly. “Nobody will suspect a thing.” 

“Yeah, same with me,” Alfred said as he climbed back up onto the rock and motioned for Arthur to do the same. “Mattie was out like a light when I left.”

Glad to be having conversation, Arthur delicately curled himself up on the spot next to Alfred, lightly wrapping the tip of his tail around the human’s arm. His kind did it often when conversing with a friend, especially when they were out sunning. It was a sign of kinship and helped to conserve heat, which was especially useful in the chilly air of night.   
Confused by the light pressure around his wrist, Alfred glanced over at the Naga, but what he saw had him both gasping and unable to breathe, combining to instead force him to let out a strangled choke. He had never had romantic feelings before, never even really been attracted to someone before, but ….dear god, Arthur was beautiful in the moonlight. There was something about the way his skin tone mixed with the soft light drifting into the clearing that gave him the appearance of practically glowing and his green eyes cut through the dark, captivating Alfred instantly. His hair was contrasting perfectly, but with what, Alfred didn’t know. All he knew in that moment was that the fluttery feelings he had been getting around the Naga suddenly made complete sense and all he really wanted to do was reach out and run his hand over the skin that looked so soft and perfect.

He was so caught up in the striking beauty before him that he didn’t notice when his open-mouthed gaze was suddenly returned by a confused one with crinkled eyebrows and nose and how had Alfred never noticed until then that Arthur’s nose was a perfect, tiny shape?

“What the bloody hell are you staring like that for?” Arthur asked, glancing behind himself worriedly. “Is there something wrong?”

“No,” Alfred whispered hoarsely before clearing his throat and trying again. “No, nothing’s wrong. Sorry.”

“Right,” Arthur said slowly, “so mind telling me what you are staring at?”

“Uh—I—well—uh,” Alfred stuttered. The question jarred his mind and finally gave him enough strength to wrench his gaze away from the Naga and he knew he was blushing furiously as he looked down at his lap. Thanking anything he could think of for the cover of darkness so Arthur couldn’t see his blush, he rushed to find an excuse. “I, just…sorry. Um…you like nice,” he finished lamely. 

Now it was Arthur’s turn to blush. “Oh, thank you, I guess,” he said hesitantly. 

Alfred grinned in return and went back to staring at his lap. Dammit, he had made things awkward again. As the two sat there for several moments in silence, Alfred couldn’t help but steal glances every few seconds over at Arthur. It was like his eyes were addicted to the sight of him and he was more than willing to fuel the craving. 

“So…” he said just to break the quiet. He hated silence as a general rule and always felt the need to fill it with words. “How’ve you been since the last time I saw you?”

“I’ve been rather well,” Arthur commented, unsure of whether or not to elaborate. 

“Me too!” Alfred exclaimed, hoping that the feelings blossoming in his chest would cool down if they had normal conversation. “Dinner tonight was really good, although I got stuck with Ivan in lab today,” he groused unhappily. Suddenly, he frowned. “He was asking me about you.”

“Oh?” Arthur looked over in surprise. “Erm—you didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

“Of course not!” Alfred said quickly in response to Arthur’s worried tone. “It’s just…I’m sure you remember meeting Gilbert and Elizaveta on Saturday.” Arthur nodded. “Well, they aren’t exactly the best at keeping their mouths shut and so now everyone else is really curious about you.”

“Believe me when I say I have more than my fair share of curiosity about them,” Arthur said with a sigh. “If only I could meet them and see the inside of all the buildings you showed me.” At this, Arthur seemed to space out as his eyes glazed over and a soft smile appeared on his face that caused Alfred to realize with a jolt that conversation was doing absolutely nothing to squander the way his chest felt as if it was being squeezed in a way that was somehow wonderful. 

“Sports!” Alfred shouted, causing Arthur to flinch in alarm. 

“…Sports?” he repeated slowly, a dubious expression on his features. 

Alfred laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, that was kind of random. I was thinking about what more I could teach you about humans and stuff and I realized that I haven’t told you much about our sports!” Really, he was just trying to force his brain into overdrive so that it wouldn’t have to continue torturing him with his newest discovery.

“You really are a strange one, Al,” Arthur said in a tone that Alfred hoped could be described as fond, but was mostly just disbelief. He grinned, furtively studying the way the Naga’s eyes were glinting in the low light and Alfred imagined that he could see the reflection of stars in the pupils. Gulping and shaking his head to break himself out of a stupor before it could begin, he launched into an explanation of every sport he could think of. Arthur must have found it strange with the way Alfred was essentially just rambling endlessly, but he put up with it and even seemed to be having a good time. 

Alfred didn’t bring a watch or a phone with him when he left his room, so the hours got away from him without his notice. Luckily, Arthur could tell what time it was by looking at the position of the moon in the sky. Around four in the morning, they decided that it was best to be getting to their respective homes and Alfred finally indulged in what he had been dying to do all night.

Arthur didn’t even seem surprised when Alfred crushed him into a hug, which was good because Alfred wasn’t sure if he would have been able to keep his brain from getting scrambled long enough to come up with an explanation other than “sorry it took me so long to realize that you’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.” He held on longer than any of their previous hugs, but that was mostly because he got distracted by how nice Arthur smelled up close. The scent was exactly like fresh air and dirt and warm grass, which might have been a little too outdoorsy for some, but to Alfred it was absolutely divine. 

When he pulled away, he thought he detected a blush to the other’s cheeks, though it was impossible to be sure in the dark. When they departed and said good night—or good morning, rather, as Arthur reminded him—Alfred was reluctant to make the journey back to his dorm room and not just because he was still afraid of the dark. Even though they agreed to meet up again two nights from then, he began feeling lonely as soon as he stepped outside of the clearing and that fact terrified him. He had never had an inkling of these emotions before, so for everything to be hitting him so hard and so fast was overwhelming.

When he finally reached his room, he was relieved to hear Matthew’s sound snoring, indicating him that at least for the night he had gotten away with sneaking out. Quickly, he stripped off his hoodie and jeans, leaving him only in boxers as he burrowed himself beneath his sheets, staring up at the ceiling for several long minutes in quiet contemplation. After all, he had a lot to think about.


	11. Chapter 11

Arthur cuddled further into his blanket, mourning the way that Alfred’s smell was starting to fade. He had taken to hiding the fabric behind a stack of books when he wasn’t sleeping so that anyone else who happened to visit him wouldn’t see it and become suspicious as Francis had. Granted, the books had gotten him in plenty of trouble when they first showed up, but at least they were old news.

That day had been a particularly stress-inducing one for him. It had started when he had barely been able to fall asleep after returning from seeing Alfred and had been roused by Francis barging in to tell him a meeting of the clan was being held. Grumbling and cursing the name of Francis’ unborn child, Arthur had allowed himself to be dragged to the center of the clan’s territory where important meetings always took place. Any fear he had that the meeting was about him was quickly stamped out when he arrived and saw everyone gathered in a circle around two Naga a few years younger than himself. He could tell from the glances exchanged what was about to happen and a few seconds later, the head elder, who acted as a kind of leader for the clan, confirmed his suspicions.

“Fellow Naga, thank you for gathering here today on such short notice. What we have before us,” he gestured to the couple in the middle, “are two young clan members who wish to be bonded for life. Does anyone object?”

Arthur rolled his eyes at the pointless question. Nobody had ever objected to the bonding of two clan members in the history of the practice. Becoming mates with someone required two stages and asking the permission of the entire clan was the first step followed by the actual ceremony itself. It was all very ritualistic, but it held a special meaning among his kind. As happy as he was for the couple, it was also a blow to his own self-esteem. He recognized them and he knew that they were both at the age that Naga were supposed to be mated—several years under his own age. He believed that their names were Tino and Berwald, although he couldn’t recall ever having a conversation with them.

The meeting had ended directly after that, since the clan hadn’t objected to the match and there was no other business that needed discussing. Immediately ditching Francis and avoiding his brothers, Arthur had made a beeline for the comfort of his own den. He had been planning on taking a nap to catch up on his lost sleep, but for some reason, once he had cuddled up with his new blanket his mind had gone into overdrive. Alfred smelled like a combination of leather, spice, and something indescribable that made Arthur feel heady and unfocused. He didn’t like the effect it had on him, but that didn’t stop him from breathing deeply and giving a hum of approval every time he retrieved the blanket from its hiding place. 

Arthur closed his eyes, savoring the quiet moments he was able to spend simply relaxing. Unbidden, images of bright blue eyes and an infectious smile invaded his thoughts. Oh, how he would love to never have to part from him—he snapped his eyes open violently, furrowing his brow. Where the hell had that come from? In that moment, Arthur knew that he had a problem.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Matthew had to forcibly remove Alfred from his bed the next morning, prompting irritable questions as to why he was being lazier than usual that all went unanswered. Alfred’s sleep-deprived mind caused him to be extremely disoriented for the first several minutes of being awake, but by the time Matthew was practically shoving clothing into his face in an attempt to get him dressed and ready for the day, he had decided that the first thing he would do after getting out of classes would be to find Elizaveta. He wanted to scold her for telling people that he and Arthur were dating, but for the most part he wanted advice. She and Gilbert were the only two that had actually met Arthur and out of the two of them, Alfred definitely felt more comfortable going to her, since Gilbert couldn’t offer serious advice to save his life. 

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Matthew asked on their way down to breakfast. Alfred glanced nervously at him out of the corner of his eye and sighed. He had hoped it would go unnoticed that he was utterly exhausted, but he had forgotten that he couldn’t hide anything from his twin. 

“Yeah, I was too busy stressing about a test I have today,” Alfred lied easily. It was true that he did have a test in psychology, but he had studied well the day before and had no worries. Matthew snorted derisively and rolled his eyes.

“Because losing sleep is really going to help you perform better,” he said in a snarky tone. Alfred just grinned and shrugged, glad when Matthew dropped the subject in favor of crowding around the pancakes that had been set out that morning.

It didn’t take long to corner Elizaveta after he was dismissed from his final class of the day. She was huddled around one of the wide windowsills with a gaggle of girls, giggling behind hands as they seemingly gossiped about something. Alfred was unaffected by the mob of females, marching right in and grabbing his friend’s wrist to drag her away to a more private place for discussion, ignoring the tittering that followed them. He halted when he reached a safe distance from prying ears and turned to Elizaveta with raised eyebrows.

“Yes?” she asked innocently, but a gleam in her eye told him that she knew exactly what this was about.

“Can you and Gilbert not use my friendship with Arthur as fodder for false gossip?” he demanded crossly. 

“Of course we can!” she chirped. “That’s why we’ve only been telling people true gossip!”

He fixed her with an unimpressed look. “Except it’s not, so I’d appreciate not having creeps like Ivan come up to me and ask about a boyfriend I don’t have.” 

“That you should have,” Elizaveta corrected with a pout. “What’s the deal with the two of you anyway? We’ve barely met him and I can tell from your face that you really like him.”

Alfred felt his face heating up. “Is it that obvious?” he said miserably. 

“Only because I know you so well,” she said with a kind smile. “Really, though, I don’t see what the problem is. I know you have no experience whatsoever with this sort of thing, but if you like him, just ask him out!” she encouraged. 

“Yeah…” Alfred said as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It’s not exactly that easy.”

“Is he not gay?” Elizaveta asked sympathetically, preparing to pat Alfred’s shoulder in a comforting way.

“Um,” Alfred stuttered. That was actually a really good question. Would that be an entirely foreign concept to the Naga? Most animals didn’t display homosexual tendencies, since humans were one of the few species that developed relationships for the sake of companionship. It could very well be the case that Arthur’s reptilian half would disallow him from even considering a male as an acceptable match. Mentally making a note to later pray to every god he could think of for that not be the case, he attempted a humourless smile. “I have no idea.”

“Elizaveta!” one of the girls from earlier called. “Are you coming with us?”

Elizaveta bit her lip and looked back at her friend. “Look Alfred, I’m really sorry, but can we discuss this later?”

“Yeah, sure,” Alfred relented. “Have fun doing whatever it is girls do in large groups.”

She offered him a smile and gave his arm a slight squeeze. “You should ask him, by the way. That way you’ll know for sure if you have a chance.” With that, she strolled back over to the group of girls she had been previously gossiping with. Alfred watched as they walked out of the building and in the direction of the town, wondering what he should do with himself until dinner time. 

As he walked out to the parking lot to retrieve his car and drive back to his dorm, he contemplated what Elizaveta had said. Of course, she had given the advice about asking Arthur with the assumption that Arthur was like any other normal guy. Actually, now that Alfred was taking the time to think about the reality of his situation, it was more complicated than he had imagined.

First of all, for Naga mates were very serious and very permanent. Could he spend the rest of his life with Arthur? He thought about the way he felt each time they had met. Arthur made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t for a long time. It was like he was opening Alfred’s eyes to the wonders of everyday things and making him see the world in a whole new way. Oh yes, Alfred could picture spending the rest of his life with the beautiful Naga by his side. The real question was would he be able to? Of course, he didn’t even know if his feelings were reciprocated, but aside from that, there was the slight problem of Arthur being banned from seeing him. If his clan wasn’t comfortable with Arthur so much as interacting with him, there was no way they would allow them to become mates. Maybe he should just take a chance and march right into the clan’s territory and declare his love? That’s what the heroes in movies did, anyway. Although, the hero generally had less obstacles to overcome than he did. Alfred sighed as he pulled up next to his dorm, feeling suddenly put out. 

Naturally, when he got back to his room his brother was there waiting for him. After a day full of questioning and stressing, returning to such a familiar thing was a great comfort to him. Matthew was rigidly seated in his desk chair, laboring over a textbook and writing notes onto sheets of scrap paper. He looked so absorbed in his work that Alfred was tempted to sneak up and scare him, but he knew that would earn him a very thorough smack in the face and he wasn’t up for having a red mark for the next week. 

When he closed their door, Matthew was broken from his study stupor and looked up at his brother, frowning when he saw his crestfallen expression.

“Did you fail that test in psychology?” he asked with concern.

Alfred deposited his backpack and keys onto his bed and raised his eyebrows in confusion, not having been aware that his inner turmoil was being expressed on his face. “No, why?”

“You look down,” Matthew said observed.

“Do I?” Alfred asked awkwardly as he climbed up onto his bed and sprawled out.

“Yes,” his twin said, unimpressed and clearly waiting for an explanation.

“It’s nothing,” Alfred lied after a moment, rolling over so he was facing away from the violet-eyed boy. 

“Alfred,” Matthew called quietly, “you can talk to me, you know.” Alfred stilled in his position and bit his lip nervously. It wouldn’t hurt to tell his own brother a little bit of the situation, right? He could trust Matthew. Feeling his heartbeat quicken in anticipation and nerves, Alfred sat up and turned back around so he could face his roommate.

“Okay,” he said slowly, “but can we keep this just between us? I want to confide in you as my brother, not as my friend.” When Matthew smiled and nodded, he thought about the best way to phrase his problem and continued. “I think…I’ve been getting these feelings and it’s become pretty obvious to me what they are.”

Matthew crinkled his brow. “Why is that a problem?”

Alfred gave a humourless laugh as he played with the ends of his blanket to occupy his hands. “Because I’m in love with someone I can’t have.”

“Oh, is Arthur not gay?” Matthew asked in what appeared to be honest surprise. Alfred laughed, genuinely this time, both at how Matthew automatically knew who he was talking about and because it was the same thing Elizaveta had assumed earlier. 

“I don’t know, but that’s not even the main problem,” he admitted. Here he paused, working at the blanket with more ferocity to cover up his nerves. He didn’t know how much he wanted to tell Matthew about the situation. Of course he trusted him, but he was worried that Matthew wouldn’t believe him or he would think it was weird. He was so deeply absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t know how much time had gone by since he had last spoken. 

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay,” Matthew said softly, misinterpreting Alfred’s silence as unwillingness to continue. “If you ask me though, which you sort of did, you wouldn’t have fallen in love if it wasn’t meant to work out.” At Alfred’s dubious expression, he clarified. “In your case, at least. I’ve spent my whole life watching you have no interest in a single person, so Arthur must be something really special to catch your eye.”

Alfred chuckled. “You have no idea.” 

“Hey, how come I haven’t met him yet, anyway?” Matthew demanded, suddenly looking offended.

Alfred suddenly halted his internal ramblings, dropping the blanket and looking up at Matthew with an idea rapidly forming in his head. “You know what? Maybe it’s time to change that.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Alfred why the hell are we going into the woods? And I still don’t understand why we can’t meet Arthur at a normal hour,” Matthew complained as he lagged behind the determined pace of his twin.

“I told you, this is the only way,” Alfred responded shortly. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t explain why. Gilbert and Elizaveta got to meet him at a movie theater!”

Alfred ignored his brother’s grumbling as he continued to hike through the woods. Matthew had been surprised to say the least when Alfred had informed him that they would be meeting Arthur around one in the morning. He had debated with himself heartily before they left how much he should tell his brother in preparation for meeting Arthur, but in the end decided that it would be best to just let Matthew see for himself. It wasn’t exactly as if he could turn around and say “well you see, he has a tail and lives out here so meeting in normal places is kind of difficult.” It wasn’t an ideal way to introduce his brother to the object of his affections, but it would have to suffice.

He wouldn’t deny that he was incredibly nervous for this meeting. There were so many things that could go wrong… He reminded himself that he trusted Matthew, but he had no way of anticipating how he was going to react and he could only hope that his twin wouldn’t freak out. He knew once the initial shock of Arthur’s anatomy wore off, the two would get along splendidly, but in the meantime his stomach was working itself into knots as he led his twin to the clearing.

When they arrived several complaints later, Alfred was relieved to at least see that Arthur was already there, perched on the rock and gazing up at the sky. Alfred felt the now-familiar twinge in his chest upon seeing how beautiful Arthur was.

“Wait here a sec, okay?” Alfred said as he glanced back at Matthew. The other boy was peering curiously at the Naga, unable to make out his features across the poorly lit clearing. Upon receiving a nod from his twin, he turned and approached Arthur, waving once he saw that his words to Matthew had already alerted the man to their presence. Alfred didn’t hesitate to crawl up onto the rock and wrap his friend in a tight hug, reveling in the softness of the skin on Arthur’s back. He smiled when he felt Arthur nuzzle into his neck and mourned as he cut the display of affection short for Matthew’s sake. He briefly wondered when they had become so familiar, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to complain. 

“I brought someone to meet you,” he said quietly. Arthur glanced over to Matthew, who was still standing at the edge of the clearing as Alfred had asked.

“Yes, I can see that. Who is it?”

“It’s my brother, Matthew. He wanted to meet you and well, I guess I figured there’s no harm in it,” he said sheepishly, hoping that Arthur wouldn’t be upset by his spontaneity. “Is that okay?”

Arthur’s eyes lit up in delight. “Of course it’s okay! I’ve been wanting to speak to more humans,” he said excitedly. Suddenly eyeing Matthew suspiciously, he turned back to Alfred. “He isn’t going to panic like you did, is he?”

Alfred chuckled at the memory of their first encounter. “Probably not, since it’s obvious you aren’t going to kill him by the way you’re interacting with me. You’ll just surprise him, I think.”

“That’s good,” Arthur remarked with a nod, realizing that although Alfred had pulled back from their hug, he still had his hands resting gently on Arthur’s biceps. Coughing lightly, he willed away his blush. “Bring him over, then.”

“Right-O!” Alfred declared with a salute. Clambering down off the rock and running part of the way back to Matthew, he gestured for his twin to join them. “Matthew, I’d like to introduce you to Arthur,” he announced as Matthew approached. He could tell from the bespectacled boy’s expression that he was still confused about what was going on, but Alfred knew he would figure it out very soon.

“Hello Matthew,” Arthur said politely as they shook hands.

“Hi Arthur, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Matthew said as he shot a pointed glare in Alfred’s direction. “Although I can’t say I’m enjoying losing my sleep.” Another glare.

Arthur chuckled slightly, wondering exactly how much Matthew had been told about the situation. “Yes, well, I understand it’s not exactly ideal.”

Alfred could see Matthew biting his lip, something he did when he was confused, but was afraid of seeming rude by asking questions. Taking pity on his brother, Alfred decided to intervene in the conversation and give him a step in the right direction. 

“You see, the reason we have to meet like this is because Arthur isn’t allowed to see me,” Alfred said.

“Why not?” Matthew looked to him questioningly. 

Arthur gave the boy a level stare. “I’m not your species, Matthew,” he said bluntly. 

Matthew scrunched up his brow, roving his eyes over Arthur’s face. Alfred was amused to watch the progression of realization that displayed on his twin’s face as he seemingly noticed for the first time that Arthur wasn’t wearing a shirt and blushed, then widened his eyes a fraction as he took note of the dark, scaly patches on Arthur’s arms, and finally let his gaze fall on the six foot tail that melded with the Naga’s waist. And then he promptly fainted. 

Alfred rushed forth just in time to keep him from falling onto the ground, wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy and hauling him up on the rock to lay him down. 

“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Alfred muttered to himself as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Arthur was looking on in shock and concern as he scooted over to make more room for all three of them. 

“Is he going to be alright?” Arthur exclaimed, self-consciously curling his tail around himself.

Sighing, Alfred made himself comfortable in between the two males. “Yeah, it’s not the first time that’s happened. He’ll wake up in a little while and be disoriented, but it’s fine.”

“Am I really that frightening?” Arthur asked after a moment, unhappy.

“No!” Alfred shouted loudly, then blushed at his volume and tried again. “No, it’s not that. You’re fine, but humans…I guess we tend to be very rooted in the way we see the world,” he said thoughtfully. “So when we see something that defies everything we’ve been taught it’s a bit overwhelming.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Arthur said, letting his fingers trail along a crack in the rock as he considered Alfred’s words. 

“I mean it though,” Alfred said as he looked at Arthur with soft eyes. “It’s really not you. Well, I mean it is you, but it’s not you…does that make any sense?” he asked with a nervous laugh.

Arthur smiled amusedly. “Yes, I think I understand what you’re saying. You have terrible eloquence, though.”

“I don’t know what that means, so I’m just going to pretend it was a compliment.” The two laughed together and allowed a comfortable silence to befall them. Alfred was content to simply listen to the light breeze making the leaves on the trees produce a rhythmic rustling noise and somewhere nearby a cicada buzzed. Unbidden, thoughts of Elizaveta’s advice came into his mind. She had told him that he should just ask Arthur about his sexuality, but he didn’t know if Naga even had different sexualities, so he was hesitant to just throw the question out there for fear of freaking him out. Still, he had to know. 

“Hey, Arthur?” He waited until Arthur had looked over at him before continuing. “Um, Matthew was telling me about this crush he had on George Clooney…” he trailed off, studying his friend’s face carefully for a reaction.

“Okay?” Arthur said, perplexed. 

“Oh!” Alfred laughed sheepishly. “You wouldn’t have a clue who that is. He’s a famous male actor. He makes movies like we saw last week,” he explained, giving an emphasis on the word ‘male.’

“Okay,” Arthur repeated, still not understanding what Alfred’s point was. “Well…that’s nice.”

Alfred inhaled deeply through his nose in frustration. Maybe he was being a little too subtle, but he wished that Arthur would give him more to work with. “Yeah, Matthew really prefers guys over girls.”

“That’s interesting,” Arthur said blandly, wondering why Alfred was telling him this.

“So…it doesn’t weird you out?” Alfred finally asked.

“What doesn’t weird me out? The fact that he likes men?” Arthur asked, really confused now.

“Yeah, you know. In a romantic way. That’s okay with you?” Alfred asked nervously as he crossed his fingers behind his back.

“Of course that’s okay with me,” Arthur said, looking at Alfred as if he had sprouted a beard. “What kind of question is that?”

Alfred let out a sigh of relief. “Well, I was just curious because I thought maybe there was a cultural difference that would make you opposed to it or something. Plus, there are a lot of humans who don’t like it, so…yeah,” he finished lamely. 

“Really?” Arthur inquired, looking more interested. “Some humans don’t approve of that?”

“Yeah, it’s actually a pretty controversial thing right now. Supporters are trying to get more rights for homosexuals, but a bunch oppose it for religious or whatever reasons.”

“That’s so bizarre,” Arthur said in wonder. “It’s a completely natural and accepted thing in my clan. Our bodies are even built to adapt to it.”

At that, it was Alfred’s turn to feel confused. “Wait, what? What do you mean, ‘built to adapt to it’?”

“W-well,” Arthur stuttered, feeling a blush rise. “It’s—it’s just a part of our bodies. Depending on whether or not we choose a mate of the same sex, our bodies can alter to accommodate it.”

Alfred felt his inner biologist wake up from its nap. “Whoa, whoa, whoa…you mean accommodate sexually?”

“Yes,” Arthur confirmed simply, unwilling to talk about such a lewd subject. His tail had tightened around him in an attempt to ward off the embarrassing questions.

“So wait, like, if a male wanted to mate with another male, his penis would become a vagina?” Alfred asked curiously.

“No!” Arthur squawked. “Don’t say such things so casually! Two males cannot reproduce, so it wouldn’t become…that, but it would…make room, so to speak.”

Realizing exactly who he was discussing the subject with, Alfred blushed deep scarlet. He was so used to scientific terminology that it hadn’t even occurred to him to be embarrassed, but this was Arthur he was talking to and dear lord how had he gone from trying to see if he had a chance to learning very intimate things about Arthur’s anatomy? Alfred was rather innocent, so sex hadn’t even crossed his mind after he had realized his feelings for the other. Trying his best to keep inappropriate images out of his head, Alfred gave an apologetic smile. 

“Sorry, I forget not everyone’s a biologist. That’s kind of cool though,” he said honestly. 

“I take it humans aren’t like that. You don’t find it strange, then?” Arthur asked, obviously still uncomfortable.

“Not at all,” Alfred said with an encouraging smile. “I think you’re perfect, Arthur.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to say that. Arthur’s eyes widened and even in the dark, Alfred could see a blush stain his angular cheeks. They remained staring at each other for several tense moments before Arthur began blinking rapidly and Alfred realized that he had made him cry.

“Sorry,” Arthur muttered as he brushed away the droplets in humiliation. “It’s just…nobody has ever said anything like that to me before,” he admitted, lowering his gaze to his lap to avoid eye contact.

“Hey,” Alfred said softly, reaching out a gentle hand to lift the Naga’s chin. “It’s true. I already told you, your clan is full of idiots if they can’t see it.” He wasn’t sure where the courage had come from to say that, but he wasn’t going to question it, especially after Arthur looked back up at him and produced a watery (beautiful) smile.

Only then did Alfred notice how close he had leaned in. Arthur seemed to notice it at the same time, if the sharp intake of breath was anything to go by. Alfred’s eyes automatically trailed down from Arthur’s shining emerald ones, tracing the shape of his cheekbones and petite nose. They rested on the gentle curve of Arthur’s lips as a sudden urge took root in his mind. The smile dropped off his face and settled into something more serious, desiring. Flickering his gaze quickly up to meet Arthur’s, he was encouraged by the dazed expression Arthur wore and how he was pointedly staring at Alfred’s mouth. Leaning towards Arthur slowly, he parted his lips slightly and felt intoxicated when their breaths mingled in the shrinking space between them, his eyes slipping closed of their own accord. Just as he lifted his hands on the rock to place them on Arthur’s shoulders for leverage, he heard a muffled groan from behind them.

“Nnnghfff….Alfred?”

Alfred froze in despair, feeling disappointment and anguish rush through him as he pulled away. He chanced a peek at Arthur’s face, noting that it seemed to be a mixture of shock, irritation, and a small amount of lingering desire. He swallowed heavily, wondering if he had just ruined everything. The urge to shove Matthew off the rock rose strongly to the forefront of his mind, but instead he turned around to see his twin rubbing his head and attempting to sit up. 

“What happened?” Matthew asked as he gazed blearily at the two males watching him with odd expressions. 

Alfred sighed in frustration and glared at his brother. “You fainted, asshole.”

Matthew blinked, confused by Alfred’s tone, but seeming to recall the events that had occurred. “Um…yes, I remember that now.” He looked cautiously at Arthur. “Do you really have a tail or was that my imagination?”

“No, it’s real,” Arthur said as he smiled, having recovered slightly from his close encounter with Alfred. 

“Here,” Alfred offered, sliding backwards so Matthew had a clear view and acting as if he hadn’t just been a mere millimeter away from kissing Arthur, “see for yourself.”

“Wow,” Matthew whispered softly, eyes wide in disbelief. “How…?” he asked, letting his question go unspoken as he looked between Alfred and Arthur for answers. 

Alfred shrugged. “I don’t know. Arthur says his kind practices magic and that’s how nobody has found his clan. They totally all live in these woods, by the way. Remember a few weeks ago when you got really pissed off at me for not coming back? That was when we met. I had gotten lost and was wandering around and fell and then he found me.”

Arthur nodded to confirm the story. “Yes, not one single member of my clan knows how we came into existence, but I do suspect a healthy level of magic.” He said it with so much pride in his voice that Alfred couldn’t help but smile fondly. 

“Wow,” Matthew said again. “That’s…So what exactly are you?”

“We are called the Naga,” Arthur explained. “Half-human, half-snake. There is a whole clan of us a short journey away, but it’s expressly forbidden to leave the area. My kind fears humans above all.”

“So what are you doing here?” Matthew asked, suspicion clouding his features. 

“He’s a bit of a rebel,” Alfred cut in with a smirk. 

Arthur glared at his friend before clarifying. “I disagree with the mindset of my clan and took to exploring outside the boundaries every now and again. I came across Alfred by chance when the fool got spooked and wasn’t watching where he ran.”

Matthew was quiet for several long moments as he watched Alfred turn to Arthur and try to dispute his status as a “fool”. Arthur certainly acted human enough…his anatomy would definitely take some getting used to, but he seemed like a nice person. Not to mention it was easy to see how happy he made Alfred. He supposed, for the sake of his brother, he would accept him. Smiling now, he joined the conversation with a “Don’t let him fool you, Arthur. He’s always an idiot.”

Alfred positively beamed as his twin joked, despite the fact that it was an insult to him. It didn’t matter what Matthew had said, really, because Alfred knew in that moment that his introduction had been a success.

Nearly three hours later, Arthur declared that the sun would be coming up soon and that he needed to go. They had spent the night laughing and talking and the news of the morning drawing close came as a disappointment, mostly to Alfred. Matthew, although having been a good sport about most of it and had enjoyed himself, was more than ready to head back and plop down onto his bed. 

“I’m sorry for fainting earlier,” Matthew said as he shook Arthur’s hand for the second time. 

“It’s quite alright. I understand that it was rather shocking,” Arthur said with a smile. Alfred watched them exchange their pleasantries with impatience, staring at Matthew pointedly. His twin finally took the hint and went to stand just outside the clearing to allow Alfred some alone time.

“So…” Alfred said nervously as he studied Arthur’s face. His mouth still tingled from being so close to a kiss and he could tell from Arthur’s refusal to meet his eye that he was remembering it to. Whether or not that was a good thing, he wasn’t sure. “See you in a couple of days, same time?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then,” Arthur said, finally looking up at Alfred. There was a long moment where Alfred stared dazedly at his lips, trying to work up the courage to just lean forward and claim them. He knew that Arthur knew what had almost happened earlier and he hated the thought of acting like they had forgotten. In the end, he was too afraid of a negative reaction and he didn’t want to do something so important when they wouldn’t have the time to discuss it. 

“Goodbye, Arthur,” he said softly with a sad smile. He turned and strode across the clearing and into the woods where he knew Matthew was waiting for him, feeling bright green eyes on him as he went. 

The walk back was mostly silent, save for the birds chirping as they woke up. Alfred was consumed with his thoughts on his almost-kiss with Arthur and what he had learned about Naga sexuality. He thought that meant he had somewhat of a chance, even if he was human, and from the way Arthur had reacted it seemed that he might not have minded Alfred kissing him. He desperately hoped that was the case. 

“So?” Alfred asked after the silence became too much. He seemed to be using that word a lot lately.

“So what?” Matthew shot back. 

Alfred rolled his eyes. “You know what. What did you think?”

At that, Matthew stopped walking and turned to face his brother. “I think that the two of you would be cute together.”

“Really?” Alfred asked excitedly, also halting his walk.

“For a guy that didn’t sleep last night, you are way too energetic,” Matthew said wryly. “But yes, really.” Here he became more serious and gave Alfred a look. “And aside from not knowing if he feels that way about you, I don’t see why you can’t be together like you’ve been saying.”

The two resumed walking, nearly out of the woods by then. “What do you mean? I think it’s pretty obvious that we can’t be together. There’s no way it would be safe for him to be around a bunch of humans and we can’t spend the rest of our lives seeing each other at night once every couple of days.”

He thought his logic was extremely valid, so he was surprised when Matthew suddenly turned around and slapped him across the face. “That was for being an idiot.”

“Ow—Matthew, what the hell?” he exclaimed angrily, holding a palm to his burning cheek. 

“Everyone has secrets behind closed doors, Alfred. Everyone has private lives. Why can’t you?”

Alfred stared at him blankly. “What are you even suggesting?”

“I’m saying,” Matthew said with an exaggerated eye roll and sigh, “that it would be easy for you to get a house or something and the two of you could live together in it and nobody would have to know unless you wanted them to. Seriously, have you given this any thought?”

“I guess that could work…” Alfred said thoughtfully. “Except I don’t know if he feels that way about me.”

“So find out. It’s not that hard,” Matthew snapped, too tired to still be dealing with his brother. 

Alfred made a noncommittal noise before remembering his own irritation. “Actually, funny you say that,” he started, glaring at his twin, “because I might have been able to find out, but you have shitty timing! We were so close to kissing when you decided to come back from the land of the fainters.”

“Sorry,” Matthew shot him an apologetic look, “but it’s not like I can control when I wake up.”

Alfred huffed but didn’t argue. He didn’t have the time, anyway, because at that moment they were at the edge of the woods with the dorm building in sight. With nothing but thoughts of infinite sleep on their minds, the two students trudged happily up to their room and gave thanks for the fact that it was the weekend and they could waste the entire day in bed. 

That morning, Alfred _dreamed._

He was back in the clearing with Arthur, but this time Matthew was nowhere in sight and it was during the daytime. He could tell immediately from the sultry look Arthur was giving him that this wasn’t a normal, innocent dream like he had dreamt last time. His body reacted immediately when Arthur smirked and leaned forward, trailing a warm finger down Alfred’s shirtless—why he wasn’t wearing a shirt in the middle of the woods, he couldn’t figure out—chest.

“Do you want me, Alfred?” he asked, seductive. Dream-Alfred found that he couldn’t respond, too focused on the hand that was now caressing his sides and the waistband of his pants. “You seemed pretty interested when I told you about my anatomy.”

Dream-Alfred managed a nod, screwing his eyes shut against the sensations that were more wonderful than he could ever have imagined. Apparently, this was good enough for the Naga, as Arthur leaned over even more so that his mouth was right next to Alfred’s ear, allowing his warm breath to create shivers all along Alfred’s spine. 

“I can give you a demonstration,” he whispered lowly. Dream-Alfred began breathing heavily, squirming uncomfortably in the tight confines of his pants. “Hmm you would like that, wouldn’t you?” Arthur asked rhetorically, pulling back just enough to be able to burn a searing expression into Alfred’s eyes. 

“Y-yes,” dream-Alfred managed, tipping his head back as that warm hand trailed lower over his hips to brush lightly along his thighs. He was hot all over, but it was by no means uncomfortable. He just wanted more. 

“Then you shall receive,” Arthur murmured, finally placing his hand firmly on the hard bulge of Alfred’s erection. “In abundance.”

Alfred snapped his eyes open with a gasp, greeted by the clinical off-white of his ceiling. Had he seriously just…? Lifting up his blanket, a glance to his nether regions confirmed that yes, he had, in fact, just had a wet dream about Arthur and he now had a rather straining boner in desperate need of attention to prove it. Peering nervously over the edge of his bed to the lower bunk confirmed that Matthew was still fast asleep, curled up on his side and blankets tangled around him. Heaving a deep sigh, Alfred rolled back over and considered his options. Or rather, lack thereof. He couldn’t will his erection away; it needed to be taken care of. And since there was no way in hell he was going to jerk off with his brother in the bed under him…

Bathroom it was. 

Slowly inching his way down off his bed, he quietly padded out of the room and locked the bathroom door behind him, making sure his suitemate’s door was locked as well. Making an executive decision, he decided that the best way to do things would be to shower. It was probably already well into the afternoon, so he would need to get presentable at some point anyway. Stripping himself quickly of his t-shirt and boxers, he hurried to step into the shower and turn on the spray, reveling in the warmth. He looked down at his erection, unable to believe what he was about to do. 

Without further ado, he wrapped his hand around the base of his cock and leaned against the wall of the shower for support. He thought of the way it had felt in his dream when Arthur’s hand had landed on him over his pants. If that had been amazing, the thought of Arthur touching him without the barrier of fabric was driving him crazy as he thrust his hips into his fist and stroked along the length. His mind flashed to when they had almost kissed and continued the image for him. Instead of Matthew waking up, he had melded their lips together and buried his hands in hair that always looked impossibly soft. Alfred moaned before stuffing the fist that wasn’t busy into his mouth to stifle his sounds of pleasure. 

Of course, it was by no means the first time he had masturbated. After all, what teenaged boy didn’t indulge at least every now and then? This, however, was completely different. This time, it was to the thought of someone he knew, someone he knew who he had very real feelings for and it made everything that much more intense. The last thing he envisioned was being in bed with Arthur, burying his cock inside the lithe body as they made their bond permanent. 

For the first time in his life, Alfred Jones came with the cry of a name on his lips.


	13. Chapter 13

He never expected that falling in love with someone would have such a heavy impact on his daily life. Really, he should have known. He had read enough novels, seen enough movies, heard enough songs to be completely aware of the devastating, irreversible effects of love, and yet there he sat in an advanced biology lecture puzzling over why he was unable to pay attention, thus only further keeping himself from absorbing a word the professor was saying.

Ever since that night, all he could think about was Arthur. Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. He had been walking down to the dining hall the morning after and had been so struck with a sudden unhappiness that he halted in his tracks and had to resist the temptation to place a hand over his chest in confusion at the pain there. It only took another moment for him to realize that it was because he missed Arthur. He had seen the Naga not twenty-four hour prior and yet the urge to be with him was so strong that he actually lost his appetite.

“Don’t forget that monotremes are a special class of mammal,” his aging professor droned. “Found mostly in Australia, this class is composed of the platypus and the echidna and is defined as mammalian with the ability to lay eggs.”

Alfred sighed in his hard, plastic seat, shifting to try and find a more comfortable position. He had his notebook out on the small fold-out desk and open to a blank, fresh page, but he had yet to actually write anything down. This lesson wasn’t anything he hadn’t learned on his own time back in high school when he had first taken a biology class and become enraptured with such things as phylogeny and nomenclature. Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. He could recite it without even taking a breath or a moment for thought.

How would Arthur’s species be classified? He couldn’t help but wonder. Surely his kingdom was animalia and his phylum chordata, but would his class fall under mammalia or reptilia? Which half of his genetics reigned supreme? Perhaps Alfred would have to invent him a class of his own. He liked that notion, he decided. Arthur was neither man nor reptile and was simply Arthur.

He had promised to see Arthur in two nights and now that it was Monday afternoon, it was nearly time for him to sneak out of his dorm once more to visit the Naga and he didn’t think he had ever been so thankful for the weekend being over. He had been kicking himself for not asking to see Arthur the very next night so that there was less of a wait, but he had been so caught up in their almost-kiss and how awkward they had rapidly become that he couldn’t even think about how to make his situation better. 

“Now, many of you may find that the egg-laying habit is very similar to reptiles and avians, but do not make the mistake in thinking that monotremes have any relation to these classes. They are simply mammals that have developed the practice through evolutionary convenience.”

Alfred glanced around at the students scattered around the lecture hall. Most of them seemed to be paying attention and diligently taking notes, but there was a large handful that, like him, had their minds drifting off in other directions. He wondered idly if any of them were preoccupied by thinking of ways they could possibly make their love for someone work. Was he alone in the room for daydreaming about how to simultaneously hide someone from and expose them to the world? 

He felt stuck. He had been mulling over what Matthew had suggested—that nobody had to know what went on behind closed doors and that Arthur could be perfectly safe living in a house with Alfred—and had felt horrified when it occurred to him that it wouldn’t be any kind of proper life for the Naga. He would be taking Arthur from one metaphorical cage to the next (and likely get him stuck in a real one if he wasn’t careful). Arthur wanted to experience the human world, not live secluded away from it. 

That’s the problem, Alfred thought bitterly. The human world would never allow him to experience it properly. Reminding himself that he still had yet to even establish whether Arthur felt an inkling of romantic affection towards him, Alfred pushed his negative thoughts into a corner in his mind and happily focused on other things, like exactly what he was going to do when he went to meet with Arthur later that night. Obviously, he had to bring up the kiss, but he didn’t know how to do it in a way that would allow him an opening to try it again. 

Do the Naga even kiss? Alfred suppressed a groan and added the question to his list of ‘Things to Worry About Later’. Arthur had definitely been glancing down at Alfred’s lips while Alfred was leaning in the other night. Granted, his mind may have been on overdrive and misremembered some details, but he felt pretty confident about that one. Surely that meant that Arthur knew what Alfred had intended to do. 

As his professor finally ended the lecture and released the students to do as they pleased for the rest of the day, Alfred stared down at his notebook and realized that in his absentminded musings, he had drawn rather elaborate block lettering to spell out ‘Arthur’ horizontally across the page. He was tempted to rip the sheet out and get rid of the evidence of himself acting like a ridiculous love-struck fool, but it wasn’t as if anyone accusing him of being such would be false. Resolving to stick the paper inside his favorite textbook, Alfred gathered up his things and exited the building feeling distinctly relieved that another long day of classrooms and information was over. 

“Yo, Alfred!”

The unmistakable voice of Gilbert rang out across the parking lot as he strolled out to his car, books under one arm and a spring in his step. Alfred turned around to see his albino friend jogging towards him and waved a hand in greeting. 

“Hey Gilbert. What’s up?” he asked once Gilbert had stopped in front of him and caught his breath.

“I have some awesome news!” Gilbert exclaimed, clapping Alfred on the shoulders in his excitement. “You remember my uncle that writes all those books on Germanic history?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Well, he has a neat little cabin on Lake Norman that he rarely uses and he said,” here Gilbert paused for dramatic effect, “that if I wanted, I could bring some friends to stay there for a weekend!” 

Alfred felt a thrill of anticipation. When was the last time he had actually been able to go on a trip with his friends? It had been at least since high school. “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, I know! We can leave this Friday after classes and come back on Sunday evening.”

Alfred’s enthusiasm dimmed a little as he thought about Arthur. “Oh, uh…I don’t know. I might have something planned.”

Gilbert gave him a knowing looks. “Actually, I was going to ask you to bring Arthur so that we could all get to know him better. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind cancelling whatever lame plans the two of you had to hang out with us on a lake.”

“Er…maybe,” Alfred said nervously. For a moment he wished that Arthur was just a normal human so he could really bring him to spend time with his friends, but he dispelled the thought with more than a little shame towards himself for even thinking it for a second. “We’ll see.” 

“Sweet! See you later, man!” Gilbert said, rushing off in another direction and leaving Alfred to stand by himself next to his car. One more thing we’ll probably never be able to do together, Alfred thought as he climbed behind the wheel and began the drive back to his dorm. 

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey, Arthur,” he said in as nonchalant voice as he could muster given the circumstances. The Naga twisted around on his perch as soon as Alfred spoke, green eyes shimmering in the low light and causing a thread of nerves to add itself to the collection already building in Alfred’s stomach. He could feel that it was finally the night where he and Arthur would get everything out in the open and he had been thinking all afternoon of exactly what he would say when the time came. 

“Hello, Alfred,” Arthur responded. Alfred thought he detected a faint hint of tension in the other’s voice and hoped that it would work out in his benefit. Climbing up onto the rock next to Arthur, he gave a tight smile as he settled himself and clasped his hands in his lap.

For a while, both of them were silent. Alfred’s mind darted from topic to topic in a frantic plea for something, anything, to say, but everything he could think of either seemed too random and wouldn’t provide an opening for what they really needed to discuss or it was too forward. Every time he opened his mouth he caught Arthur watching him expectantly and his brain lost its function out of anxiety. Wonderful. He was supposed to confess and yet he was unable to get past a greeting.

_This is awkward,_ he thought. He felt every muscle in his body tensing and he could tell from Arthur’s posture that he wasn’t the only one. Their previous ease of conversation that had developed over the weeks had evaporated and he knew that it could be fixed easily if only he would open his mouth and say something. He could talk about his day and the classes he had to sit through, or he could describe what he ate for his meals.

“So,” he finally managed after several more tense moments of silence, but the sentence died on his tongue before he could force the rest of it out. Had he even known what he was going to say to begin with? Arthur glanced at him curiously, flicking his ear in expectation. 

“Were you going to say something?” Arthur asked, a trace of hope in his voice.

“Uhm…yeah,” Alfred said awkwardly, thinking quickly. “How was your day?” He could think of several other things he should have said instead, something like “You have to have realized that I was about to kiss you the other night,” or maybe “I have really strong romantic feelings for you and it would be awesome if you felt the same, so could we please talk about that?”

“Oh, it was…grand,” Arthur said, surprised. “I completed several riveting activities, including, but not limited to, lying around and thinking in my den, lying around and thinking on a sunny rock, and watching other people lying around and probably not thinking. How was your day?”

The trace of bitterness and pile of sarcasm in Arthur’s speech amused Alfred, but he opted not to comment on it. “I mostly just sat in class,” he recounted. “And then I ate dinner with everyone, worked through some assignments, and came to see you.”

“Tell me something about your childhood,” Arthur suddenly blurted. Alfred looked to him in surprise at the odd request and was further perplexed by the defiant ‘I dare you to question me’ look Arthur was wearing.

“Uh, okay,” Alfred said hesitantly, circling his hand along his thigh in a nervous gesture. “What exactly do you want me to tell you?”

Arthur shrugged. “Just tell me a story.”

“Alright, let me think for a moment.” As he sat and stared blankly at the ground, he unrolled his life like a strip of film in his mind and zeroed in on his time as a young child, trying to land on something that would be of interest to Arthur. Strange as the demand for a story from his life was, he was infinitely grateful for the conversation opportunity to diffuse the awkward tension that had closed in on them the moment he had sat down. He wasn’t sure how he could use his childhood as a bridge to a discussion on their potential romance, but he hoped that it would come up naturally.

“I’m not sure if I’ve ever really talked to you about this before,” he began after another moment’s silence, “but my mom is a single mother. She alone raised me and Matthew from the time we were born. Apparently, our dad only ever wanted one kid and then when he found out that he was getting two, he kind of freaked out and left us.”

“That’s terrible!” Arthur interrupted, aghast. “He should have been elated that he was getting two children.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t always work out that way,” Alfred said with no trace of bitterness. “It really doesn’t bother me, though, because my mom did an awesome job of raising the both of us by herself.”

“Matthew is your only sibling, correct?” Arthur ventured. “Were you ever lonely growing up, only having two immediate family members?”

“Not at all,” Alfred chuckled. “I met my friends when I was around six and we hung out together constantly. I’ve always been surrounded by people that I love,” he said fondly.

“That’s very lucky, then,” Arthur said with a smile. “Tell me more?”

“Uh, sure,” Alfred said, furrowing his brow at the other. This felt like a way to avoid what they really needed to discuss, but he would let it go for the moment. “Let’s see…I can tell you about the meetings my friends and I used to have. I don’t remember what we called it—I think Gilbert came up with some stupid name that everyone always fought over—but we would get together in another part of these woods and do stupid stuff like tell each other scary stories. We liked to pretend we were some kind of secret society.”

Arthur remained silent, looking absently into the darkness of the trees and giving no indication that he had heard anything Alfred had just said. 

“Hey,” Alfred murmured. “Are you okay? You look kind of out of it.”

“Oh, yes,” Arthur started. “Sorry, I was just caught up in thinking what it must have been like to have your life. Carry on.”

Alfred bit his lip in confusion and decided to speak his mind. “Why are you so curious about my childhood all of a sudden, anyway? Did something happen?”

Unknown to Alfred, Arthur’s grip on the rock tripled in anxiety and his tail instinctively curled more tightly around his waist. “Alfred…can I talk to you about something?” he asked evasively.

“Er, yeah, of course you can,” Alfred said with fervor, albeit a little nervously. He had a feeling about where the conversation was about to go and he prepared himself to say what had been on his mind for the past few days.

“Nothing happened, so don’t worry about that,” Arthur said, refusing to meet Alfred’s eyes. “Or maybe it did. I don’t really know. I can't even believe I’m about to tell you this, but it’s just that I really don’t have anyone else I can go to. Anyone in the clan would laugh at me and I don’t want to concern my mother with it, she’s already got enough on her hands with Peter and—”

“Hey, hey,” Alfred said in alarm at Arthur’s suddenly frantic tone, resting his hands on the Naga’s shoulders and forcing Arthur to face him. “Calm down! It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself. I’m here to listen to you, yeah? It’s what friends do,” he encouraged in what he hoped was a soothing tone.

“Right,” Arthur said, more to himself than anything. “It’s what friends do. You see, Alfred,” he said in a more direct manner as he locked eyes with the human. “That’s the thing. I’ve been having these feelings for…someone…and I’m not quite sure what to do with them.”

“Oh?” Alfred sounded, the nerves that had been residing in his chest and stomach blossoming into something much more dangerous. He couldn’t afford it when it came to something like this, because if he was wrong it would hurt like a bitch. “Could you elaborate on that?”

“You know, I’m not sure that I can,” Arthur said, growing irritated. “These feelings are not the sort I have ever felt before, but I do believe they are associated with being around a romantic interest.”

Alfred’s heart thudded so strongly that he nearly choked on his hope. This wasn’t Arthur’s subtle way of rejecting him, was it? Surely Arthur was too good of a friend to let him down easy by proclaiming his adoration for someone in his clan and indirectly implying that he could never have an interest in Alfred. Arthur wouldn’t do that, so this could only mean…

“W-wow, that’s great,” he got out. Looking down at the ground, he tried to find something to focus on so he wouldn’t have to look at the beautiful being beside him. There was a weed crawling up the side of the rock that he had never noticed before and he gave it grave examination as if his life depended on it.

“Actually, it’s not great,” Arthur said so fervently that Alfred felt he had no choice but to look up and meet his eye. “The thing is…we can’t be together.”

Arthur’s eyes were boring so directly and purposefully into his own that it felt as if Arthur was trying to tell him something specific, but Alfred refused to believe it. “Oh, so they’re already mated?” he asked, hoping that if he played dumb he could coax Arthur into a more concrete admission.

“No, that’s not the problem,” Arthur said carefully.

“Then what is?” Alfred’s mind was racing, his breathing was growing shallow and he knew his gaze was pooling full of vulnerability.

“He and I...we were never meant to be. The story ends there.” Arthur said it in such a hollow, defeated tone that Alfred felt his protective instincts flaring up and his hands shot out to cup Arthur’s face before he could really think about what he was doing.

“That’s bullshit!” he shouted. “Come on, you can’t possibly believe that! There’s more to this and you know it!”

“Alfred…” Arthur struggled against Alfred’s grip, attempting to turn his face away to escape the effect Alfred’s eyes were having on him, but Alfred merely crowded closer each time so that he had no choice but to look him directly in the eye as he spoke. “The man I’ve fallen in love with is the most wonderful, intelligent, and fascinating person I’ve ever encountered,” he said slowly, “but we come from two different worlds and that is a gap too large to bridge.”

Alfred cradled Arthur’s face carefully, lightly rubbing his thumb over the soft skin he found there. They were so close he could feel Arthur’s breath tickle his mouth with each exhale. Had Arthur always had such a pretty, shimmery shade of gold flecked into that mossy green in his eyes?

“And if that man loves you too?” Alfred questioned, blazing his sincerity through every pore in his body as he felt his eyes prickle with a peculiar emotion.

“Then I guess that makes this a goodbye,” Arthur whispered.

Acute confusion clouded Alfred’s mind at Arthur’s choice in words, but he wasn’t given the chance to voice it before he felt something soft touching his lips, blocking whatever speech he had been about to make, and the sight of Arthur’s lowered eyelids mere millimeters away from his face clued him in to the fact that the ‘something soft’ was Arthur’s mouth. All at once, every nerve in existence in his body exploded and he wrapped one arm around Arthur’s bare waist while the other slid from his face to the back of Arthur’s head to tangle in yellow hair that was surprisingly thick and lush. The kiss felt bittersweet, a goodbye like Arthur had said, but this was unacceptable to the human and he pressed more firmly to pour every emotion he could through their connection so Arthur could know how much he wanted it, wanted there to be a them. 

He was reluctant to pull away, but his inexperience disallowed him from continuing like he so desperately wanted. He could barely think through the overwhelming happiness that his feelings were at least in some form returned. Keeping his arms in place around Arthur and staying close, he reopened his eyes and was appalled to see Arthur staring back at him, gaze shimmering with unshed tears. 

“No, no don’t cry!” Alfred rushed out, leaning forward to nuzzle Arthur’s cheek in a comforting manner, but the Naga turned away and Alfred was left staring at the small space behind Arthur’s gently pointed ear. “Please, this isn’t a goodbye, okay?”

“I’m not crying,” Arthur asserted, hurriedly wiping at his face in irritation. “I only ask that you don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be. Yes, you are the one I have feelings for, but my fondness for you has gotten out of hand and it needs to end tonight.”

“What?!” Alfred yelled. “No no no, don’t I get a say in this? This can’t end!”

“Yes, Alfred,” Arthur stated firmly, reaching up to wrap his hand around Alfred’s wrist and peeling it off of him. “This needs to end. You can have a say in this, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently and I’ve already decided that I cannot let myself fall for you any further. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise. You’ve already taken my first kiss and that’s something that should only be meant for my mate.”

Alfred felt himself become gripped by panic and said the first thing that popped into his mind. “So how do two Naga become mates?”

Arthur looked at him as if he were crazy. “Two Naga become mates by asking the permission of the clan and then going through a ceremony.”

“Okay, can you be more specific?” Alfred asked, running a hand through his hair in nervous anticipation.

“I don’t see how this is relevant!” Arthur snapped. “There is no way for a human and a Naga to mate, Alfred! Although I would love nothing more than to be with you, it just isn’t possible.”

“You’re being too cynical and dismissing the idea before you even give it a chance,” Alfred insisted. “This may not have happened before, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible!”

“Alfred please,” Arthur said, growing desperate. “We can’t have this!”

“Why not? Is it just about our species? Because that doesn’t matter to me! I love you!” Alfred pleaded.

“What?” Arthur halted his attempts to get farther away from Alfred and whipped his head around to meet his gaze. “What did you just say?”

“I said I love you!” Alfred said, relief clouding his voice as Arthur stopped struggling and carefully placed his hand on Arthur’s arm. “What you said, about us coming from two worlds and that being too big of a gap? I don’t believe that and I think deep down you don’t either.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Arthur said with less determination than before. “You aren’t thinking clearly right now.”

“Of course I am!” Alfred yelled in exasperation. “Look, I’ve never felt like this before about anyone. Ever. I’ve never even looked at someone in a romantic context before you. Call me a sentimental idiot if you want, but I think that means something, like maybe we were meant to be.”

“Sentimental idiot,” Arthur said petulantly, causing Alfred to smile despite himself.

“Didn’t you feel it too, Arthur? When we kissed?” Alfred said hopefully, working up the courage to place his other hand on Arthur’s face to keep their gazes locked. “It was like…everything I’ve ever wanted was finally being given to me.”

“Yes,” Arthur breathed. “Of course I did.”

“Then what’s the problem? Sure, it’ll be difficult and maybe at times it will even seem impossible. But if we both want this, there isn’t a damned thing stopping us,” Alfred insisted.  
“Except our people,” Arthur reminded him. 

“We can get around that,” Alfred said in determination. “I’m willing to find a way if you are.”

Arthur looked at him for a long moment with the most serious expression Alfred had ever seen on his face. After a moment, he took a long breath and allowed the tension in his body to melt away as he released it.

“Are you sure that you’re aware of what you’re asking for, Alfred? You want to become my mate.”

“Yes, I know exactly what I’m asking for. I want that, Arthur. So, so much,” Alfred said with as much ardent sincerity as he could muster and prayed that Arthur would believe him.

“Mates are for life!” Arthur said, insecurity leaking through. “This isn’t something you can commit to on a whim and then realize down the line—if we could even find a way to be together, that is—that you were actually just interested in my species or something. There would be no going back from this for me.”

“I know that!” Alfred said indignantly. “I’m completely serious about this, about you. I already told you that I’ve never had feelings for someone before and I don’t think they would develop only to be some fleeting thing. Can’t we just stop with the worries and let ourselves be happy?”

“Alfred, if you’re sure,” Arthur said carefully, finally allowing his hands to creep around Alfred’s shoulders and cling tightly. “If you’re really, really sure, then…” He cut himself off, hoping that he could convey what he was trying to say through his expression.

Reaching behind his head, Alfred grabbed one of Arthur’s hands with his own and brought it around to his front to show Arthur and linked their fingers together. “Remember some lines from my favorite song? ‘If I reached for your hand for the rest of my life…’”

“I remember,” Arthur stated, marveling at their linked hands.

“I want that with you. I’m really, really, really sure. I, Alfred F. Jones, want to become your mate,” he swore. “For the rest of my life,” he added for good measure.

He was rewarded with the sight of a dazzling smile breaking out on Arthur’s face and Alfred fell in love with him all over again before he was once again feeling the heady sensation of Arthur’s lips on his. This time, there was no trace of bittersweetness or an unnecessary goodbye and Alfred would have hoped every kiss they shared in the future was as perfect if he had the mental capacity to focus on anything besides the way Arthur was making him feel. It was so incredibly nice to be so close to each other.

“So, tell me again how we become mates?” Alfred asked a little breathlessly when it was over.

“Well,” Arthur began, “typically we would have to appear in front of the entirety of the clan and ask if anyone has any objections to our union, but I don’t think that’s going to work out in this case.”

“Agreed,” Alfred said. “Then what?”

“Then would come a short ceremony a few days later in which everyone would gather once more, and we would each say some things about what we hope for in our life together. The clan elders would pronounce us official and we would…well,” Arthur broke off and blushed deeply.

“We would what?” Alfred asked curiously.

“Um, we would go back to the den we chose to live in together and…consummate our bond,” Arthur explained, lowering his eyes in embarrassment.

“Oh!” Alfred said in realization. 

“Yes,” Arthur continued. “That’s…well that’s actually the part that really matters. It’s what makes it permanent.”

Alfred felt his own face heating up as it finally occurred to him what mating truly entailed. His gaze ran without his permission over Arthur’s body and his mind left the realm of his jurisdiction as he was bombarded with thoughts about how he was going to have _sex_ with _Arthur_ and dear lord he wasn’t sure whether to be embarrassed or immensely pleased. 

“That um,” Alfred said, clearing his throat in an attempt to play the subject off like it was no big deal when he knew he would be able to think about little else from then on. “That sounds a lot like a simplified version of what humans call weddings. The couple goes before their friends and family to say vows and exchange rings and then they all go party for a while until the couple goes for some alone time and…yeah.”

“Fascinating,” Arthur said honestly. “That we have even ceremonial parallels between our cultures.”

Alfred nodded out of a feeling of obligation, but he wouldn’t be honest if he said that he was as interested in the whole cultural similarity thing as Arthur was. He was much more interested in how they could apply it to themselves. 

“We could do something like that then,” Alfred said. “We could have a private thing where we say some stuff.”

“It wouldn’t be official by any means,” Arthur mused. “But we are already so unconventional that it would hardly matter. It would be real to us.”

“Exactly!” Alfred exclaimed, happy that Arthur was warming up to the idea. 

“Why don’t we just do it now?” Arthur asked suddenly, grip on Alfred’s hand tightening. “Right here on this rock with the moon as our witness.”

Alfred wanted to. The look in Arthur’s eye was nearly enough to make him lose his resolve and shout his love for the Naga to the stars above them and the trees around them. He wanted to whisper every sappy line he could think of into Arthur’s ear and then make love to him with no regard for how hard or uncomfortable their rock was.

“I think we should wait,” he said after a moment and almost changed his mind upon seeing the disappointment flash through Arthur’s expression. “I’m sorry, there’s just something I want to do first.”

“Alright,” Arthur said, not wanting his curiosity for what Alfred could possibly need to do so badly that they had to wait to ruin the moment. “Then when?”

Alfred thought for a moment. “This Friday! My friends are going away for the weekend,” he said giddily. “If we’re careful, we could even come back to my room for a few hours.”

“Really?” Arthur perked up at the mention of seeing the inside of where Alfred lived. “That would be fantastic! So long as I returned to my clan before sunrise, that is.”

“Okay, that’s doable,” Alfred nodded. The two smiled in euphoria at the other for several moments before automatically leaning in for another kiss. Now that they had settled plans, Alfred focused more on memorizing details about what it felt like to kiss Arthur. How, after a lifetime of harsh weather and outdoor living, had Arthur managed to maintain such a perfect, soft mouth? “This is going to work,” he said fiercely when they broke away, instead leaning their foreheads together and breathing in the earthy, fresh scent emanating from the Naga. 

“Yes, it will.” Arthur cupped Alfred’s cheeks, allowing himself to smile freely for what felt like the first time in his life. “Oh, and Alfred?”

“Hmm?” Alfred hummed happily. 

“I love you, too.”


	14. Chapter 14

Arthur should have known that the constant presence of a smile on his face would alert anyone of suspicious happenings, but he was just too damn happy to worry about it. Until, that is, a certain non-friend of his approached him the evening after he and Alfred planned to become mates and began to pester him on the occasion of his elated state.

“Arthur, I beg of you. You’re scaring the children with that maniacal grin on your face. Care to tell me what’s got you so delighted?” Francis inquired. Arthur looked up from the rabbit he was attempting to devour and almost felt disappointed when he was unable to scowl. 

“That’s none of your business, I’m afraid,” he answered crisply. Francis studied him carefully for several moments, making Arthur squirm uncomfortably as he attempted to be nonchalant. 

“Must be quite the delicious rabbit you’ve got there if it’s got you actually smiling,” Francis noted. 

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he responded lazily, focusing his energy on his meal.

Francis was silent once more and Arthur made sure to completely ignore him in the hopes that he would simply go away. Arthur almost thought he had managed to evade the round of questioning when his non-friend suddenly spoke again.

“Who is it?”

Arthur nearly choked on the rabbit as he looked at Francis with wide eyes. “Who is who?” he asked innocently.

“Don’t play stupid, Arthur,” Francis said irritably, losing patience. “You must have found somebody you want to mate with. That’s the only reason for you to be looking so happy.”

“Can’t I just be happy because it’s a nice, sunny day?” Arthur grumbled. 

“You, my friend,” Francis said dryly, “are never pleased simply by good weather. Tell me who it is.”

Arthur kept his eyes lowered, fearing that if he re-established eye contact he would give himself away with some sort of nervous twitch. He had a several options in responding. He could play it off and say that Francis was just imagining things, but that would likely not quell suspicions in the long run (since he knew the smile he wore would be a permanent accessory as long as he was with Alfred). There was always the flight tactic, in which he threw his partially consumed rabbit into Francis’ face to distract him and then slither away as quickly as possible, followed by avoiding the other Naga for the rest of the day. He should probably save that as a Plan C. That left two options: being vague and making someone up if Francis wanted more direct answers, or telling the truth. Arthur felt it was fairly obvious which he should choose. 

“It’s just some bloke,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Oh?” Francis sounded. Arthur didn’t need to look to know that he was doing his infamous eyebrow quirk. “And who exactly is said ‘bloke’?”

“Um…that’s private information,” Arthur said.

“I understand,” Francis said with a twinkle in his eye. “You want to keep it quiet until the announcement is made, yes?”

Arthur felt himself begin to panic in recognition of the deep hole he was digging himself into. “Er, no. There isn’t going to be an announcement.”

“Well why not?” Francis asked impatiently. “You’re going to mate, right?”

“No,” Arthur lied. “I’m not.”

Francis looked completely flabbergasted. “Then why are you so happy?! You don’t make any sense, Arthur!”

Arthur sniffed indignantly. “You’re the one that made assumptions. I just want to eat this rabbit in peace.”

“You look tired,” Francis continued, unwilling to give up the interrogation.

“I keep dreaming of being molested by frogs. It would keep anyone up,” Arthur said sardonically. 

Francis huffed, but slithered off down the path in search of someone else to harass. “I’ll be watching you!” he shouted back.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and rolled his eyes at Francis’ rather creepy parting words. Hadn’t he been under surveillance for the past couple of weeks anyway? That’s why he had been so tired. He supposed he should at least make attempts to school his expression into its natural state. If he didn’t get himself under control, he could easily be found out and then where would he be? Oh well, he had more important things to worry about, such as exactly what he would say to Alfred during their unofficial mating ceremony. As he lost his mind to daydreaming, he failed to notice the smile that had once again crept onto his face like an incurable disease.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

“No,” Gilbert said flatly from his position sprawled across Alfred’s bed.

“Look, dude, I’m sorry, but—” Alfred tried to intervene.

“No! You are not going to skip out on our awesome weekend away from this place just to spend more alone time with Arthur,” Gilbert stated firmly.

Alfred chewed his lip anxiously for a moment. He had expected Gilbert to be a little upset about the news that he wouldn’t be joining the rest of their friends for their weekend of fun by the lake, but he hadn’t really thought about the way it sounded. Technically he was ditching his friends for Arthur, but considering their plans and the circumstances, he felt it was justified. 

“It’s not just alone time, Gilbert. It’s a special occasion, okay?” he explained softly, twisting his hands on his lap as he fidgeted in his desk chair.

That gave Gilbert pause. “Special occasion?” His eyes lit up in understanding. “You’re going to get it on, aren’t you?”

“Um,” Alfred fidgeted again, unable to deny it. “It’s more than that. We have plans,” he said vaguely, fingering the objects in his pocket. Unofficial marriage to Arthur was something Gilbert may or may not approve of, so he was keeping his plans somewhat secret.

Gilbert, however, had no interest in questioning Alfred further, only zeroing in on the first part of the statement. “In that case, I’m proud of you!” he yelled obnoxiously, sitting up and pumping his arms in celebration. The loud shout caused even Matthew to look up from his homework from where he was sitting at his desk. “Damn, I never thought I’d see the day when asexual Alfred found someone he wanted to screw!”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Alfred snapped, causing Gilbert to sober his enthusiasm.

“Sorry. Really though,” he said earnestly. “I’m happy for you. This is the real deal, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really is,” Alfred confirmed with a smile.

“Alright,” Gilbert sighed. “You two have fun together, but next week we meet him for real, yeah?” he said firmly.

“Maybe. You guys have fun, too,” Alfred said evasively, unable to promise anything. As soon as he was gone, Matthew piped up from across the room.

“Don’t you think that you’re maybe rushing things?” he asked carefully. “I mean, you’ve only known each other for about a month.”

“You know, with anyone else I would agree with you,” Alfred said thoughtfully, once again feelings his purchases inside of his pocket. “But this just seems so right. I’ve never wanted anyone in my entire life and all of a sudden there’s Arthur and…I don’t know, Mattie. It’s like it’s meant to happen.”

Matthew smiled at him, reaching down from his chair to pet Kumajiro behind the ears as he did when he was in thought. “Just don’t get too crazy, yeah? Kumajiro is still innocent and I’ll be very upset with you if you make him witness something vulgar.”

Alfred nearly opened his mouth to protest, but something his brother had said caught his attention. “I thought you said it was a girl polar bear?”

Matthew froze, looking over at Alfred with a carefully blank expression. Wordlessly, he shrugged and returned to his work.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Come Friday, as night fell and he began his journey to his and Alfred’s rock, Arthur was filled with an anticipatory excitement for the events to come, but once he arrived and found himself very much alone, panic began to set in. With nothing but the chirping of insects to distract him, Arthur’s mind flew around worst-case scenarios. Alfred had changed his mind, he was just joking about loving him, Alfred had died—

“Hey.”

Arthur heard the softly spoken word at the same time he felt familiar arms wrap around his waist and a body press against him from behind. He nearly melted in relief and leaned back into the embrace.

“You’re late,” he chided, shifting his head so that his cheek pressed against Alfred’s. “I started to think you weren’t coming.”

“Sorry,” Alfred said woefully, pressing a shy kiss to the smooth place where Arthur’s neck melded with his shoulder. “The guy in charge of the students in my hall was wandering around in the common area. I had to wait, like, 20 minutes for him to leave before I could come.”

Arthur hummed, separating himself from the comforting warmth of the human and turning around so they could face each other. He felt something get caught in his throat when he gazed at Alfred. The boy’s eyes were reflecting the silvery light from the moon and they gleamed from excitement and slight nervousness as Arthur was sure his own were doing. He allowed his vision to trail down Alfred’s body, admiring all there was to see. He may not have known much about humans and their clothing choices, but he was pretty sure Alfred’s clothing was fancier than usual. The gesture warmed his heart and he smiled happily at his soon-to-be mate.

“So, um, how exactly do we do this?” Alfred asked, biting his lip as he watched his love watching him. 

“Well, we face each other,” Arthur guided as he shifted closer, “and then take turns making promises to each other about our futures. The other confirms the promise each time. We kiss and that’s it.”

Alfred nodded, liking that the Naga kept it simple. He had always been of the opinion that traditional weddings were over-the-top and showy. “Okay, but can we add a couple of things?”

“Sure,” Arthur said, albeit somewhat hesitantly. He was open to anything Alfred had to suggest, but he didn’t want anything too outlandish. He didn’t have to be close to Alfred to know the boy could sometimes get over-the-top.

“Can we hold hands while we do the promise making part?” Alfred asked, blushing slightly. “I mean, it would be fine to just stand here, but it would be really nice to touch you and that’s what humans do during this.”

“Oh! Of course,” Arthur said, thinking that Alfred was positively adorable as he reached out and took his hands. “Like this?”

“Yeah,” Alfred exhaled happily, squeezing the Naga’s hands in his own.

“Alright. What else do you want to add?” Arthur encouraged.

“Oh, uh…I’ll tell you when the time comes for it,” Alfred said sheepishly.

“Okay. I’ll go first,” Arthur offered, giving the obviously nervous human a reassuring smile. Upon Alfred’s nod of confirmation, he started. “Alfred, I hope for us to continue to teach each other about ourselves and our culture throughout our lives.”

Alfred smiled in exhilaration that the actual ceremony part had begun. He had been daydreaming about it non-stop—especially about what they would say—as the week passed by at a torturously slow pace and he felt so deliriously joyous now that he was really there. 

“I promise,” he said, looking straight into Arthur’s bright green eyes. Arthur smiled in return and nodded his head in indication that it was Alfred’s turn. “Arthur, I want us to support each other whenever we need it.”

“I promise,” Arthur said immediately. He felt a cool breeze rustle past him and he somehow felt that it was meant just for him, for them, encouraging and congratulating their union. “I hope that we are always loving towards each other and make good use of the time we have together.”

“I promise. I’d like to try and find a way for us to be together all the time, so that we don’t have to sneak around just to see each other.”

“I promise,” Arthur said thickly, beginning to choke up from the rush of emotions. Alfred’s words were so simple and sweet that he couldn’t help himself. He felt…cherished. “I hope that we can always confide in each other and be honest and open about our thoughts and feelings.”

“I promise,” Alfred said with sincerity. “We should always make each other smile and laugh and bring each other up on even the worst of days.”

“I promise. I hope you don’t try to feed me too much terrible human food,” Arthur half-joked.

Alfred laughed. “I can’t promise you that one. I hope you aren’t going to make me hunt animals for you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself,” Arthur clarified. Dropping the humour, he said, “I hope that our love can be stronger than any boundaries set before us.”

“I promise,” Alfred said with a burning intensity. “We’ll never be lonely again because we’re together. For good,” he added with a squeeze of the hands to show how much he meant it.

“I promise,” Arthur whispered. “The last thing I want to say is something I once heard at a ceremony that I’ve always loved and I want it to be true for us,” he explained, taking a deep breath to steady his emotions. “We may be two separate people, but I hope there is only one life before us.”

Alfred sniffed, intense feelings of happiness and adoration welling up inside of him. “I promise.” Arthur smiled brilliantly and began leaning forward for the kiss that would, in his eyes, make the ceremony complete, but he was stopped by Alfred. “Wait,” Alfred said as he dropped Arthur’s hands and dug through his pockets. “There’s one more thing I want to do.”

Arthur looked on in confusion as Alfred took what appeared to be two shiny circles from the depths of the holes in his pants. He became even more confused when Alfred took Arthur’s left hand and slid one of the shiny circles onto the finger next to his pinkie. 

“I went and got them in town a few days ago. They’re wedding rings and humans wear them once they get married so that everyone can know they’re with someone. I know we aren’t exactly a traditional thing and that this isn’t an official marriage, but I wanted for us to wear them. I mean, if it feels weird to you, you can take it off and they weren’t by any means the nicest ones in the shop, but this is what I could afford and I just thought—”

“Alfred,” Arthur interrupted. “I love it,” he said honestly.

“Oh,” Alfred said, relief clear on his face. “Oh, great. Here,” he offered, holding out the other ring. “Put this one on me on the same finger.”

Arthur gladly took the metal in his hand and did as instructed, feeling pleased. Pleased that their little ceremony had gone so well despite having little clue as to exactly what they were doing. Pleased that he had met and fallen in love with such a dorky, charming man. Pleased that they were about to consummate their love and spend their lives together.

“I now pronounce us…er…together?” Alfred said happily once his ring had been put on. He shrugged, figuring to hell with terminology, and surged forward to wrap his arms around Arthur and pull him into a kiss, something he was absolutely sure he would never tire of. The kiss was sweet and lingering and so full of hope that each man thought they would burst if they didn’t keep connecting their lips over and over again until they were dizzy from a lack of oxygen. 

Arthur wanted nothing more than to ravage and be ravaged by Alfred and tried to display as much by slowly sinking so that he was practically laying down on the rock with Alfred on top of him, curling his tail around the human’s waist to anchor them in place. He felt Alfred carefully cup his face and his heart fluttered at how gentle he was being. Unfortunately, Alfred soon pulled back.

“Wait,” Alfred panted. “W-we should go back to my room.”

The statement filled Arthur with excitement for what was to come and he immediately nodded and disentangled himself. Together, human and Naga, they made their way through the forest.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the pre-written chapters I have, so from here on out updates will come much slower. I hope you're enjoying the story!

By the time they reached the interior of Alfred’s room, their nerves were shot from the thrill of sneaking Arthur through the building and they came, nearly falling, through the door, not bothering to suppress giggles. Alfred had ended up carrying Arthur in his arms with Arthur’s thick, vibrant tail wrapped tightly around his torso for support and somehow being imprisoned by him was comforting instead of suffocating. 

When they were safe in the privacy of the dorm and Alfred had made sure to shut his door, he took a moment to allow Arthur to absorb the surroundings. He knew it was the first time Arthur was seeing the interior of a human building and he could imagine that it was a lot to take in at once. Beds made of wood and fabric, desks cluttered with papers and laptops and writing tools, posters adorning the walls, clothing strewn here and there across the floor. 

He thought back to his afternoon in his truck with Arthur. He didn’t think he had put the car’s air conditioning on, so the temperature in the room was most likely a surprise to Arthur, who would be used to heat only fluctuating with the seasons. It was pitch black, so Alfred wobbled unsteadily—honestly, how they had made it through the entire building was a mystery to him already—over to the wall containing the light switch and flicked it, feeling guilty once Arthur squinted in obvious pain from the suddenly harsh illumination.

“Well, this is where I live,” Alfred said fondly. “Tiny as hell, but hey, that’s college for ya.”

“It’s incredible,” Arthur breathed, blinking as his eyes adjusted, and Alfred again admired the way Arthur was fascinated by things that Alfred had always categorized as mundane. “I can’t believe it—what is all this stuff for?” Arthur asked incredulously, gesturing around the room. “And what is that?” Arthur inquired. When Alfred looked to where Arthur was pointing, he smiled at the most likely permanent resident.

“That’s Matthew’s pet, Kumajiro. Never trust a sibling when they tell you something is only for a little while,” Alfred mused. “As for the stuff, most of it’s just what we use for living. A lot it’s for school,” Alfred explained as he realized his arms were growing tired and journeyed over to the bunk beds. He stopped half-way there to gaze up at the top bunk in contemplation. He needed both of his arms to support Arthur, so there really was no way for them to ascend to Alfred’s bed. He stared at the bottom bunk, Matthew’s, for a moment, internally debating with himself.

Mattie won’t ever have to know, he reasoned as he walked the rest of the way and gently laid his mate down onto the soft sheets. Arthur had been craning his neck in every angle to get a better view of the room’s contents, but his attention was immediately robbed by the feeling of the fabric that reminded him so much of the blanket Alfred had given him. He slowly rubbed his hands along the bed, pressing down into the mattress in a few spots to relish in the luxury of laying on something that wasn’t rock or leaves or straw.

Alfred’s eyes roved adoringly over Arthur, deciding instantly that he very much liked the sight of the Naga lounging on a bed. Perching himself on the edge, he waited patiently until Arthur tore his attention away from the bedding and caught his eye. Alfred smiled, giving him a look that was wide open and trusting and full of hope and vulnerability.

Arthur’s wonderstruck expression faded into something more serious and meaningful in the understanding of what they were about to share. “You know,” he said thoughtfully, “when we first met I was very determined to distance myself from you. I thought your charming personality would bring nothing but trouble.”

Alfred’s smiled turned devilish. “Oh? How did that work out for you?”

“Well, it turned out that I was right,” Arthur teased, only half-joking. “But…it’s not so bad.” Blushing, Arthur determinedly maintained eye contact until Alfred exhaled to rid himself of the nerves and kissed him sweetly. Neither had a drop of experience, but it made them more comfortable to know they weren’t alone in trying to figure things out. When he pulled back, Alfred grinned and held up an index finger.

“Hang on just a second,” he implored. Arthur frowned as Alfred stood up from the bed and made his way over to the school-issued dresser containing most of his clothing (the rest was on the floor). After rummaging through one of the drawers for a moment, he withdrew a plain, blue t-shirt and returned to the bed. 

“What’s that for?” Arthur asked.

“Um…could you wear it?” Alfred requested shyly. 

Arthur made a puzzled expression. “Why?” 

Blushing deeply, Alfred lowered his head and stared at Matthew’s bedspread as he mumbled out his explanation. He felt childish and ridiculous, but he trusted Arthur enough to share what was on his mind.

“I’m sorry? I didn’t quite catch that,” Arthur said.

“I said ‘Because I want to undress you’!” Alfred blurted, blushing an even darker shade of red. Wasn’t Arthur supposed to have an elevated sense of hearing?

“But I’m already undressed,” Arthur pointed out. 

“Yeah, but you’re always undressed. I thought it might be nice to take clothing off of you,” Alfred explained. 

“Alright,” Arthur conceded with an understanding smile. Taking the shirt from Alfred’s hand, he recalled the way such an article was worn from when he had to wear one to drive around the town and slid it over his head, making sure to get his arms through the correct openings. Once on, he plucked at it distastefully. He didn’t enjoy wearing the fabric, but he would deal with it for a short time if it would make Alfred happy. 

Alfred smiled slightly once Arthur had the shirt on. “There,” he said, pleased. The shirt alone would have to suffice, as there was no way Arthur would be able to wear pants and he didn’t exactly have any skirts lying around. 

“Is there anything else you’d like to do before we begin?” Arthur asked somewhat impatiently. “Brush my hair, wash me up a bit, sprinkle the bed with ritualistic powder?”'

Alfred chuckled and brought a hand up to cup Arthur’s face. “No, you’re perfect just as you are in this moment.”

Arthur’s expression softened and he unfolded his arms to wrap them around his mate’s neck. “Well then what are you waiting for?” he murmured lowly and Alfred wondered just where in the hell Arthur had learned to be seductive. He certainly wasn’t going to complain, however, and promptly pillowed their lips together.

Alfred tried to keep the kiss chaste to communicate his love, but before he knew it he was gently pushing Arthur down so that his head rested on the pillow and Alfred was hovering over him uncertainly, trying to figure out where exactly he should put his hands and whether or not he should swing a leg over Arthur’s tail so that he was straddling him. Alfred felt himself heat up quickly, his pants growing tight as being pressed up against Arthur so fully was unlike anything he had ever experienced. To distract himself from how little he knew of what he was supposed to do, he let his hands trail from Arthur’s shoulders and down to his waist, fingering the shirt’s hem for a moment before making a decision. Arthur was staring up at him, eyes full of trust, and Alfred smiled with the knowledge that the Naga was about to become irreversibly his, and he Arthur’s in turn.

“Sit up for a second,” Alfred instructed, pulling up on the shirt as soon as Arthur had lifted himself a fraction from the bed. The shirt came off—barely a minute after it had been put on—with some difficulty, as Arthur took a moment to figure out that he needed to lift his arms in order for Alfred to fully remove the garment. Once Alfred had successfully “undressed” Arthur, he pushed forward so that Arthur was once more lying back against the pillow and Alfred garnered the courage to follow his instincts and throw one of his legs over the Naga so that he was straddling him.

The position was more comfortable and allowed Alfred to easily cup Arthur’s face and kiss him. He still didn’t have enough confidence to try and open his mouth or slip his tongue across Arthur’s lips, but the kiss was still heady and passionate. His hands explored skin that was always exposed, but never before touched in this way and Alfred marveled at how different everything suddenly seemed. A shirtless Arthur was something he had grown accustomed to, so to reveal his chest with another motive made everything incredibly erotic. With wandering touches and loving caresses, they explored each other’s bodies and the skin of the partially cold-blooded Naga was quickly heated to a burning.

Rubbing the smooth skin of Arthur’s sides, he pulled back slightly to truly admire how flawless everything about Arthur was. “How…um…what do I do?” Alfred asked hesitantly. He wanted his first time with Arthur—his first time with anyone, for that matter—to be perfect and he was afraid of making the wrong move and messing something up. His heart was pounding in his chest so fiercely that he couldn’t even feel if Arthur’s was doing the same.

“Start by getting rid of this ridiculous clothing,” Arthur suggested, looking up at Alfred with love in his eyes.

Alfred laughed a little breathlessly before sitting up and pulling his own shirt over his head. He felt a thrill of excitement from the act of stripping even partially, as it made what was happening feel so much more real. He wasn’t just kissing Arthur; they were about to have sex, make love, mate, and any other terminology that could be used.

“I’m not too heavy, am I?” he asked as he reached down shyly to undo the button of his pants. He realized he was trembling slightly when he felt Arthur’s hands running along his bare shoulders, offering comfort and encouragement.

“Not at all,” Arthur assured him. 

“Okay, good.” Shifting his body so he could climb off of the bed, Alfred stood and faced Arthur as he drew down the zipper and slowly allowed the pants to fall to the floor. Arthur was watching him with so much intensity that Alfred felt trapped, but he was at least relieved that Arthur was staring, full of desire, into his eyes instead of elsewhere. The tension in the room was thick, creating a perfect silence as the world waited in anticipation for the next move to be made.

He needed a moment to work up the courage to reach down and hook his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear and pull them down to the floor, taking his time in bending over and stepping out of the article so he couldn’t see Arthur’s expression upon fully revealing his body. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his body or anything, but he felt more exposed and vulnerable than he had ever been in his entire life. Still, the knowledge that it was Arthur seeing him was enough to soothe him.

When he finally looked back up at Arthur, he had to fight the urge to cover himself up again because of how pointedly Arthur was staring at his erection. He knew he was flushed head to toe with embarrassment and arousal, but he tried to keep a somewhat-level head as he walked over to his desk and plopped his glasses down. 

“Do you want me to turn the lights off?” Alfred asked, fidgeting in the middle of the room and feeling unsure of himself. The nearby fluorescent lamp was giving off the faintest of buzzing sounds and it made him feel even more as if he were on display for the world to see.

“Just get over here,” Arthur demanded impatiently.

Alfred smiled and approached the beautiful Naga, resuming his position of straddling him. He could feel the cool texture of Arthur’s scales against his ass, causing him to shiver. He was completely used to Arthur’s natural form by now, but this was the first time Arthur was seeing any human without clothing on and Alfred could tell just from his expression that he was not only aroused, but curious. Grabbing Arthur’s hands, which had still been absentmindedly feeling up the soft fabric of the sheets, Alfred boldly placed them on his waist, encouraging Arthur to explore as he pleased. 

He watched as Arthur’s eyes darkened and went on an expedition across his body. When Arthur’s hands began to travel slowly across the expanse of his back, Alfred leaned down and resumed kissing him, groaning in surprise when his cock rubbed against Arthur from his movement and created a delightful friction. His breathing had already gone heavy in anticipation and as he moved his lips over Arthur’s, he suddenly felt the tip of a tail wrap around his leg at the same time a pair of hands found the mounds that made up his ass. He gasped and arched into the touch, but the hands were already gone and moving over his hips.

Before he was able to summon the brain power to comprehend what was happening, Arthur’s inquisitive hands were wrapping around his dick and touching without inhibition. He was helpless to do anything but grasp tightly at Arthur’s shoulders and screw his eyes shut, moaning at the mind-boggling sensation.

“Does that feel good?” Arthur asked, genuinely curious. 

Alfred nodded and attempted to focus enough for speech. “Doesn’t it…f-feel good to you when you touch yourself?”

“I’ve never touched myself before,” Arthur answered as he released his hold on Alfred and allowed his hands to wander back up to his mate’s shoulders. “It’s highly taboo in our culture. It’s tradition that the only one to ever touch us should be our mates.”

Alfred’s eyes blinked open in surprise at that. The sight he was greeted by made his cock ache: Arthur’s hair was becoming disheveled and his eyes were the darkest he had ever seen them. A pleasant flush stained his face and collar, making him possibly even more appealing than he was under moonlight. 

“I’ll touch you,” Alfred said desperately, needing to give Arthur everything he could. “Just show me where.” They were so close together that he felt more than heard it when Arthur’s breath hitched and soon after a hand was grabbing his and guiding it down Arthur’s torso while Alfred was pinned by a hungry gaze. His fingertips glided over the seamless area where skin met scale and continued on for a few inches, stopping at a spot just above where Alfred was perched. Arthur bore down on Alfred’s hand and forced him to rub at the spot until Alfred realized that his fingers were teasing open a slit of some sorts. It was about as long as his thumb and ran vertically up Arthur’s body, reminding him of when he had taken a sharp knife or scissors as a child and cut a line into a piece of paper: invisible unless he knew it was there.

Now that he had gotten the idea, he felt a rush of pleasure at the knowledge granted to him and began to stroke of his own accord. Arthur released his hand in favor of tangling his arms together above his head as he watched the concentrated expression on Alfred’s face. It took only a moment before Alfred was able to insert one of his fingers and rub at the soft, wet inside. A yelp from Arthur tore his attention away from the slit and he looked up in alarm at Arthur’s open-mouthed face.

“Is something wrong?” he asked anxiously, freezing his movements. 

“Nng—no!” Arthur gasped. “I just w-wasn’t expecting that to feel like it did,” he admitted. “Can we please just…will you go ahead and put it in now?”

Alfred blushed and bit his tongue to keep from inhaling sharply when he realized what Arthur meant. “Erm…are you sure that’s how you want to do this?”

Arthur looked up from where he had thrown his head back on the pillow to look at Alfred in confusion. “I don’t see how else we could do this? I mean, if I wished for it, my—my parts could come out to look more like yours, but I don’t see how that would do us any good since I’m the only one of us that has a body to accommodate this,” Arthur explained.

Alfred thought immediately of the way he knew two human men had sex together and reasoned that they could probably use his hole, but he had heard before that it hurt pretty badly unless at least one person knew what they were doing and between him and Arthur, there wasn’t one. Maybe they could try it out sometime in the future, but for now it was probably best to just do as Arthur said.

“Okay,” he said thickly, arranging himself so that his shins supported his weight on either side of Arthur’s tail and his forearms were placed beside Arthur’s head. He nuzzled into Arthur’s neck for a moment and placed a kiss there, taking the time to steady his breath and emotions. “Shouldn’t I stretch you first?” he asked, remembering something he had learned against his will from Elizaveta. 

“Alfred, I want you inside me. Please, just claim me now!” Arthur pleaded, clutching at Alfred’s shoulders and tightening the grip his tail had around the boy’s leg. 

Those words did it for Alfred and he lifted himself up slightly. Using the hand that wasn’t pinpointing the location of Arthur’s sexual organs amidst his scales, Alfred swallowed with some difficulty and grasped his cock, positioning his hips so that he could line himself up with Arthur. As the head found the slit, the entire world felt electric as if every living creature was collectively holding its breath in anticipation to see what would happen. This was it, it was the moment where his bond with Arthur would become completely eternal. With a push, he sunk in. 

Immediately after he was inside, he was distantly aware of a sharp moan from Arthur, but whether it was from pain or pleasure, he couldn’t discern. He stopped moving completely, not because he had the presence of mind to ask if Arthur was alright, but because the sensation was so mind-blowingly overwhelming that Alfred was rendered incapable of motor skills and the possibility that he would finish before they had even begun became a very real one. Arthur was so hot despite being partially cold-blooded and he was oh-so-tight around him as the muscles fluttered in their attempt to contract and make more room.

“Are you okay?” he finally managed to ask, looking down at his love through hazy, pleasure filled, and concerned eyes. Arthur had a crinkle in between his eyebrow, but it didn’t seem to be a particularly unhappy one.

“Yes,” Arthur breathed. “Oh yes.”

Alfred thanked whatever magic or evolutionary forces that had created Arthur for not making his nails incredibly sharp, as even without claws he could still feel them digging into the skin on his shoulders. He supposed he should also send out his thanks for Arthur’s body being made for mating, since he didn’t seem to be in too much pain. When Arthur opened his eyes after a moment, it was with such an animalistic and carnal intent that he had no choice but to shudder and begin moving inside of his body. 

It was a little awkward at first for both of them, as the angle wasn’t ideal for thrusting because of the way their bodies were constructed and Alfred found himself having to use the muscles in his thighs in ways he never imagined. A couple of times, Arthur tried to meet Alfred’s movements by pulling himself up using his grip on Alfred’s shoulders, resulting in Alfred losing his balance and falling more than thrusting into Arthur. However, neither much minded their inexperience because it just felt so damn good. Not only the physical pleasure, but Alfred could swear there was some sort of Naga magic happening because he could almost feel their bond forming and strengthening into something indissoluble.

It wasn’t long before Alfred, burning and driven mad by the sounds Arthur was making with each movement, recognized the signs of an approaching orgasm and stilled, resting his forehead softly against Arthur’s. 

“I want this to last longer,” he sighed regretfully, tangling his hands into Arthur’s downy hair.

Arthur writhed the upper part of his tail in desperate need of more and gripped Alfred’s cheeks, trying to keep his tone loving instead of frustrated. “Alfred, we have an entire lifetime to go for longer. Please—just…I need this!”

Alfred nodded and resumed pumping his hips up and down and again and up and down and updown _updown_ and he was losing himself in the sounds of heavy panting and gasping and moans that were building into screams. He ducked his head one final time to press his open lips to Arthur’s—

He felt a tongue creep into his mouth as his thrusting automatically sped up and oh god _oh god Arthur had a forked tongue_ and then no more words could enter his mind because he was cumming and he only barely felt sharp teeth sinking into his shoulder because his entire body felt like it was being zapped by an electrical current and every muscle was tensed as he spilled himself into his mate.

The room seemed so quiet in comparison to what it had been moments ago as Alfred panted against the top of Arthur’s head and tried not to collapse. All of his strength had suddenly vanished, rendering him incapable of moving from his position. Once his breathing had evened out and thought had returned somewhat, he tilted his head downwards to get a look at Arthur’s face and felt a tinge of worry when he saw him completely still, eyes closed tightly, with his mouth fastened securely around Alfred’s shoulder. 

“Hey,” he breathed against Arthur’s skin and kissed his cheek softly. He was relieved when Arthur’s green eyes opened and peered blissfully up at him. Smiling, Alfred kissed every feature on Arthur’s face that he could reach and winced as Arthur withdrew his teeth from Alfred’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Arthur muttered, tenderly rubbing the area around the wound he had created. “I didn’t mean to do that. I think it’s a mating thing.”

“It’s okay. But, um,” Alfred said nervously, “I’m not going to die, right?”

Arthur laughed breathlessly. “No, I’ve told you before that I’m only poisonous enough to temporarily stun a rabbit. You’ll be just fine.”

A moment of thought and, “How did I never know that your tongue is forked?”

Arthur laughed again and lazily shrugged. “I don’t know. You weren’t paying enough attention?”

Alfred took his word for it. Slipping out of Arthur, he rolled them over shakily, as he was feeling rather boneless, and pulled Arthur close to him so they could still face each other. His cheek rested against Arthur’s hair and his arms tucked nicely around a rather petite torso. Arthur immediately wrapped his tail securely around Alfred’s legs and for a while, both were content to lay there together as they basked in the warm afterglow. Breathing evened out and flushes resided, but they remained warm in their snuggled position.

He wondered if everyone in the world felt like this after their first time. He figured it wasn’t likely, since so many people had their first time with someone that didn’t mean a whole lot to them. He couldn’t help but pity them. They were missing out, because Alfred had never felt more amazing in his entire life and he knew that it had a lot to do with the fact that it wasn’t even close to being just sex. They were mates now by the Naga definition and he’d be able to shower Arthur with every ounce of love and affection that he deserved for the rest of their lives.

“Was that okay?” Alfred asked nervously once his thoughts had a chance to grow insecure. Arthur shifted to look up at him lovingly and any doubts on Alfred’s mind dissipated. 

“It was brilliantly intense. I feel so close to you,” Arthur admitted, stroking the damp skin of Alfred’s back.

“Yeah, me too,” Alfred whispered back, holding Arthur just a bit tighter. 

After a time, Arthur’s breathing slowed further and Alfred realized that he had fallen asleep. They still had some time before sunrise, so he allowed it to happen and took to running his fingers through Arthur’s blond hair as he fought his own desire for sleep and wondered what their life would have been like if Arthur had been born a human (for yes, he was absolutely certain that they still would have met and fallen in love. Alfred had chosen him in this lifetime and even if he lived a thousand more, he refused to have anyone else). 

Life would have been easier for them, perhaps. At the very least, he couldn’t imagine that they would have to do the same level of sneaking around. He could easily picture meeting a human Arthur through school and helping him with classes and taking him to dances. Or maybe they would be older and he would see him in the window of a store and spend too much time staring before working up the courage to go in and talk to him. He could introduce Arthur properly to his friends and take him on normal dates and never have to fear that someone would hurt him because of his genetics.

Arthur’s expression of pure delight whenever he learned something new about humans entered his mind. Would he want to give that up for an easier romance? As he admired the peaceful way Arthur’s face relaxed while he slept and the gentle slope of his ear into a point and the creamy perfection of his torso and the glittering shine of his scales he realized that no, he would never give up any part of Arthur, even if it made their love easier. Arthur wouldn’t be Arthur without the long tail that was currently gluing Alfred’s legs together or the sharp teeth that had left a most likely permanent mark on his shoulder. Arthur was unique and Alfred wouldn’t have him any other way.

When his alarm clock alerted him that they were running out of time together, Alfred started to gently shake Arthur awake. He couldn’t help but smile fondly when all Arthur did was groan and burrow further against Alfred’s chest, clearly disagreeing with the approaching sunrise.

“It’s time to go back, honey,” Alfred informed, the pet name slipping out unconsciously. He blushed that what he had recently taken to calling Arthur in his head had accidentally been said out loud, but Arthur didn’t seem to notice in his slowly awakening state. 

“Mmmph,” said Arthur. 

“It’s getting near sunrise and you need to go back to your clan,” Alfred persisted, rubbing Arthur’s shoulder to keep him from falling back asleep.

“Errnnf…stupid,” Arthur grumbled quietly. 

“Who, me?” Alfred asked in amusement.

“Everything,” Arthur answered, wincing when Alfred began to laugh at an obnoxious volume.

“I’m sorry. Believe me, there’s nothing I would like more than to cuddle with you and sleep for the rest of the day, but unfortunately we’re operating under rule number three of forbidden romances and that states that everyone must be back by sunrise or they’ll turn into a pumpkin. Or something.” That had Arthur looking up at him as if he had lost his mind and he grinned dopily at how cutely ruffled his mate looked. 

“I don’t want to go back,” Arthur said sadly, shattering the playful mood. Alfred’s chest instantly clenched painfully and he chewed on his lip in misery. The words had been on their minds all night and now that it was the right time, it hurt worse than either had anticipated.

“I don’t want you to go back, either,” Alfred said, hopeless. “But if we don’t want to be found out, we need to go now.”

Arthur sighed deeply and stretched his arms a bit before sitting up. With a yawn, Alfred mirrored his movements and kissed him on the cheek, reluctantly climbing out of the bed to throw on the clothing he had been wearing earlier. He was surprised by how sore he felt, but he guessed it should have been expected after working out muscles that hadn’t been used since high school. As he bent down to the ground, he felt a pair of eyes on him and although he was less embarrassed about his nudity than he had been at first, he still kept his movements hurried to keep the exposure as short as possible. Once fully clothed, he turned around and found Arthur still in the bed watching him languidly. He gave a half-hearted smile as he walked over and wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist to hoist him up. Arthur’s tail secured itself around Alfred’s hips and they were off across the room and down the hall and descending the stairs and through the commons area to the outside world and over the parking lot. 

Once they reached the edge of the woods, he was able to set Arthur down and relieve his aching arms. Alfred shivered a bit in the early morning spring air, admiring the way the horizon was just beginning to lighten into a steely, dark gray. Too high on adrenaline and euphoria to feel to effects of exhaustion (yet), he looked excitedly around and noticed that everything seemed different and he couldn’t keep himself from walking as close to Arthur as possible. The realization that he was no longer a virgin and would never again be single kept bouncing around in his head, making him want to skip through the woods. He would’ve, but he somehow doubted Arthur was recovered from his nap enough to follow him at the same speed. 

All too soon, they were arriving at their rock and both finally accepted the fact that they would have to part ways. Alfred stood there, arms crossed over his chest, while Arthur tried to soothe himself by rubbing his hands on his shoulders. Long moments of silence drifted by as each stared at the other, having so much to say but no words powerful enough to properly express it.

“I can’t do this,” Arthur suddenly blurted. “Going back was already hard enough with you just as a friend, but now…I—we…there’s no way!”

“I know, I know!” Alfred said desperately, tearing a hand through his hair. “Just—let’s go back to my room, right now! It’s early enough that we could sneak back in and spend the day there. Come live with me,” Alfred pleaded. 

Arthur looked torn. “Oh, I want to. God, you know I want to!”

“So then let’s do it!” Alfred closed the distance between them and captured Arthur’s hands in his own. “There’s nothing keeping you out in these woods! The school year is almost over and once summer break rolls around, I can look into getting loans for a small house. We’ll live somewhere nearby together, just me and you, and I can still go to school and get a job and it’ll be great! Until then, you can just stay in my dorm room. Nobody ever goes in there but me and Mattie and I know he won’t mind! Let’s go back, right now!”

Arthur remained quiet during Alfred’s impassioned speech, eyes lit up with hope and longing. Slowly, he shook his head. “Not yet.”

Alfred visibly deflated. “Why not?!”

“I…I need to say goodbye. At the very least to my mother and younger brother. Alfred,” he looked deeply into his mate’s eyes to show his sincerity, “I love you very much and I look forward to our life together, but I need to do this first.”

“Of course,” Alfred said with an understanding, albeit somewhat disappointed, smile. “What exactly are you going to tell them, though? Are you going to say the truth?”

“I have no idea,” Arthur said honestly. “I think I’ll only tell my mom any kind of explanation. She deserves to know that I’ll be alright and she can choose what to tell to the clan once I’m gone.”

“So do you want to talk to everyone today and then I could come get you tonight?” he asked hopefully.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay awake for anything today,” Arthur admitted. 

“Okay, well today is Saturday.” Alfred mentally laid out the days of the week in his mind and considered. “So you can sleep today, say goodbye to your mom tomorrow, and I’ll come get you tomorrow night!”

Arthur shrugged coyly, reaching up to loop his arms around Alfred’s neck. “I see no reason to wait that long. Meet me here tomorrow afternoon when the sun’s the highest.”  
“Deal! I like this plan so much better. Any more sneaking around and I would have gone crazy,” Alfred said before pressing a parting kiss to Arthur’s lips. Arthur hummed against him and the two relished in how soon they could be together. 

When they broke away, they repeated the plans gleefully to each other, youthfully optimistic in the face of insurmountable obstacles and as Alfred watched Arthur slither away from view, he swore to himself that absolutely nothing would get in the way of his love for the Naga.

On the way back to his dorm, he did skip through the woods.


	16. Chapter 16

Arthur felt amazing. _Better_ than amazing. Everything was so completely perfect because he was going to leave his boring life behind for the wonders of the human world and get to stay by the side of the most gorgeous, kind, and fantastic mate in existence. For so long he had resigned himself to living a lonely life, watching each and every one of the fellow Naga in his age group find their life partners and move on. He had been left by himself, left to be the outcast of the clan. 

_Although_ , he mused, _getting a human mate wasn’t exactly a good way to stop being an outcast_. It didn’t matter. He had Alfred and the very next day he was going to run away with him and they were going to be together. He felt alive with apprehension and excitement as he slithered quickly and quietly through the woods and back into his clan boundaries. 

The best part (okay, maybe not the _best_ part, but it sure as hell was nice) was that he had gotten away with everything. He could scarcely believe his luck, as things never seemed to go his way, but he had successfully snuck away to meet with a human multiple times—once even being gone the entire day—and only Francis had an inkling of what he had done. He was almost regretful that he was planning on leaving quietly because he would’ve _loved_ to see the look on everyone’s faces when they discovered that he, Arthur Kirkland, loser of the clan, had not only duped them all, but had also mated with a human. 

The thought had him grinning to himself the entire way back to his den.

Really, he was looking forward to spending the majority of the day curled up in his bed with his blanket and catching up on much needed sleep. As incredible as the entire night had been, it had exhausted him. He would get some sleep, wake up and find something to eat, and then talk to his mother. Then, in the morning, he would leave for one last time and begin the rest of his life. These were the thoughts that were on his mind as he pulled back the flap covering the entrance to his den and made to go in.

His entire thought process froze upon seeing that there was already somebody inside. It didn’t take long to realize exactly who it was, for he would recognize that mane of kempt, golden hair anywhere. Francis was coiled up in the center of the room, clearly eyeing Arthur’s empty nest with disappointment. He hadn’t noticed Arthur yet and Arthur wondered if it would be a better idea to turn around, act like he had seen nothing, and hide until he could escape the clan. He felt his stomach drop in dismay, knowing that no matter what he did, there would likely be no getting out of this one. 

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, Arthur,” Francis said suddenly, still turned partially away. “But I do deserve to know where you have been all night.” 

Arthur started, not having been expecting Francis to speak. Upon hearing his words, he gulped and looked down at the ground. At a loss for what he should do, he reverted to his tried-and-true habit of hurling insults.

“Been stalking me, have you?” he said shakily.

“I don’t understand,” Francis continued in a flat tone. “I know humans aren’t nocturnal, so what the hell could you even have been doing out there? Surely there is nobody to watch at this time of night.”

“You’re not my bleeding father,” Arthur snapped. “You’re barely older than me and it’s none of your business where I was.”

Francis jerked his head around to look at him full on. “This is no game!” he shouted angrily. Arthur flinched from the force of the volume and quickly moved forward into the den in the hopes that Francis would not continue to shout and potentially wake up the rest of the clan. “Arthur, I told you what would happen if—”

Instead of the angry lecture Arthur had been anticipating, Francis cut himself off sharply as his face twisted into a look of pure confusion and horror. Arthur had gotten within a few feet of him, but stopped his approach upon Francis falling silent. He looked at the other Naga, wondering just what it was that had made him stop his lecturing and got the ominous sense that he had overlooked something vital.

“No…” Francis whispered, staring at Arthur intently. Arthur’s feeling increased. “That’s not…”

“Um, Francis?” Arthur asked hesitantly, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive gesture. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I asked you and you said there was no one!” Francis said as he suddenly closed the distance between them. Arthur fought the urge to back away as the other leaned towards him and sniffed the air. He felt emotionally whiplashed from the strange turn in the conversation and didn’t have a single clue what was happening. 

“What’s wrong with you? Get away from me!” Arthur said indignantly as he tried to shove Francis away. 

“Arthur, who is it?!” Francis said, tone growing frantic. “Why did you lie?!” He seemed to be on the verge of panic, as if he knew the answers to his questions but was desperate to prove himself wrong.

“What are you talking about?” Arthur continued questioning. He was now almost certain that he had forgotten something.

“Who have you mated with?” Francis growled. Arthur froze in shock.

“Wh-what?” he stammered. 

“You heard me!” Francis lashed out and grabbed ahold of Arthur’s shoulders. Arthur was too surprised to struggle against it. “Who is it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Arthur insisted stubbornly. 

“Don’t be stupid! You stink of mating scent!” 

_Shit_. That’s what he had forgotten. After a Naga mates for the first time, their sense of smell expands to include picking up if other Naga are mated. It had something to do with knowing who to go to in case a babysitter figure was needed, but Arthur had not paid a whole lot of attention during the lesson, which was probably why he had forgotten. And now that he focused, he realized that things did smell a little differently. Francis, instead of the usual flower musk he reeked of, carried a kind of soft underlying note that reminded him of Angelique. 

“Arthur,” Francis said, growing tired of waiting for Arthur to answer. “Arthur, oh please. Please, _please_ tell me you have fallen for a young Naga and were too ashamed of the age difference to announce it to the clan. You snuck off somewhere to mate with them in secret, yes? This is all just a great love story.”

Arthur looked into Francis’ worried eyes and felt his resolve harden. He was, essentially, out of options, as Francis had biological proof that he had mated with someone and there was no one in the clan he could pretend to have mated with. Besides, he was getting very tired of hiding.

“No, Francis,” he said firmly, feeling the hands on his shoulders clutch him a little bit tighter in an attempt to stop the truth.

“Then there is a neighboring clan that none of us knew about? Imagine that! I can’t believe you were the one to find it and fall in love with a Naga there,” Francis said with false mirth, offering Arthur a way out.

“No,” Arthur repeated.

“Arthur, please don’t tell me what I think I’m about to hear,” Francis practically begged.

Arthur could feel his entire body shaking from a combined lack of sleep and the emotional turn of events, but ignored it in favor of lifting his chin and putting on a brave face. “His name is Alfred, but he likes it when I call him Al. I met him a few weeks ago and yes, tonight he became my mate.”

“And Alfred must be a Naga that has chosen to live without a clan, yes? That would make a lot of sense!” Francis insisted with a tone bordering on crazed.

“Cut the bullshit, Francis,” Arthur snapped, feeling a lifetime of resentment boil to the surface. “You want to act all high and mighty about me leaving? I’ll tell you exactly where I was. There’s a rock a little ways past the clan boundary and I met Alfred there tonight. He _walked_ there using his two legs and we did our own version of a mating ceremony.” Arthur fingered the ring on his left hand almost subconsciously. “Then, we went back to his dorm—that’s the word for the place he lives—and we mated and it was _perfect_.”

When Arthur was finished with his tirade, Francis appeared to be in horrified shock. Suddenly, he released Arthur’s shoulders as if he were diseased and began slithering in circles around the den in his own version of pacing. Arthur watched uneasily, wondering what he was going to do in the event of Francis doing something rash out of panic.

“How?” Francis asked eventually, stopping his movement around the room and facing Arthur with one of the most serious expressions he had ever seen the other wear. “How did this happen?”

Arthur swallowed harshly, wondering where he should begin. Even he wasn’t entirely sure of the answer to that question. “Well, you know that sometimes I like to go out of the boundaries and observe humans.”

“Yes,” Francis said impatiently, flicking his tail in obvious irritation. “I thought _observing_ was all you did.”

“It was,” Arthur said quickly. “That is, until I saw a human fall one day. I approached him to see if he was hurt and when I found him unconscious, I brought him back here to let him heal.”

“You _what_?!” Francis hissed. “You brought a _human_ into the clan? Have you lost your mind?!”

Arthur fixed him with an unimpressed glare. “It was fine. Nothing bad came from it. Anyway, very long story short is that he woke up, we had a mutual curiosity about the other’s species, decided to meet again, and became friends. We kept meeting up with each other at our rock and learning about each other and I suppose somewhere along the way we fell in love,” Arthur recalled fondly, for once not minding displaying his emotions honestly to a fellow Naga.

“How did you even mate with him? I can’t see how you two could be biologically compatible, if you know what I mean.”

“Bloody—Francis you twit, only you would think of that! It’s none of your damn business!” Arthur said with flushed cheeks. Flashes from the past few hours flew into his mind, causing his face to grow darker.

Francis buried his face into his hands. “You’re right, it doesn’t matter.” A moment of pause to collect his thoughts. “Arthur, this is not something I’m having an easy time wrapping my head around. I know you must be lonely, but a _human_?” He spat the word out with such blatant disgust that Arthur wanted to sock him in the face.

“What does it matter what he is so long as we love each other?” he demanded.

“But humans can’t love!” Francis declared, exposing the root of his disbelief. 

Arthur’s jaw fell open from the statement, both in offense and in surprise. “You’ve never even _seen_ a human! What the bloody hell do you know?”

“I know enough,” Francis stated simply. “That’s why we keep ourselves segregated from them. They are monsters.”

Arthur stared at him, eyes wide, for several moments. Then, despite everything, he began to laugh. “Do you have any idea how _stupid_ you sound right now? Judging an entire species based on warnings with no factual evidence,” he said, shaking his head. As concerned as he was about his future with Alfred, he just couldn’t wrap his head around his own clan’s ignorance. 

“Well, I’m sorry, but do you truly expect me to suddenly be able to change what I have always believed to be true? That was the biggest warning we have been told our entire lives: humans mean nothing but trouble. You are the only one to ever question that,” Francis explained, continuing to eye his friend with doubt.

“Who are you going to believe?” Arthur demanded angrily. “Someone who has actually been around humans or a group that has never even _seen_ them?”

Francis was quiet for several long moments, staring off into a corner of the den. Arthur allowed the silence to linger, knowing that Francis needed the time to think over everything that had been said. 

“So what are you planning to do?” Francis spoke up. “I’m sure you know that mates need to be together in order to function properly. You have made this boy the other half of your soul, so now what? Are you going to continue sneaking off every now and then to see him? That will grow to not be enough very quickly.”

Arthur wondered briefly if he should confess to Francis the truth. Now that he was questioning Arthur instead of displaying panic and disgust, perhaps he was willing to help him. Besides, lying to Francis wouldn’t help anyone in the long run. Once Arthur disappeared the next day, Francis would likely assume that he had been killed. He was probably better off just explaining everything.

“I’m leaving the clan,” Arthur admitted softly. “Tomorrow. We—Alfred and I—we made a plan to meet up again tomorrow and then I’m going to go live with him.”

“In the human world?” Francis exclaimed, mouth agape. “Arthur, you can’t do that!”

“Why not?” he asked crossly. “There’s nothing for me here. If I want to go be with someone who treats me with love and respect, I will.”

Francis took a moment to absorb the new information. Perhaps Arthur was imagining it, but he thought for a moment that he could see a hint of regret flash across the other’s face before settling into something more reserved.

“Will you come back?” Francis tone was muted, accepting.

Arthur shrugged. “That depends on whether or not I’m welcome, I suppose.”

Francis sighed deeply, bringing his hands up to rub tiredly at his eyes. “I cannot say for sure, Arthur. You must realize that this is not an easy thing to understand.”

“Don’t tell them where I’ve gone,” Arthur pleaded, hope blooming in his chest. Francis showing up was not something that he had counted on, but it seemed as if things would still work out. “You can act as if we never had this discussion.”

“And what about your family? Everyone will think you’re dead.” 

“I’ll talk to my mother in the morning before I go,” Arthur promised. “And as for everyone else, I quite frankly don’t give a damn.” Francis stared at him from across the den with a blank expression, apparently still in mild shock from the breaking news. Eventually, he sighed once more and a slight smile lit up his face.

“I can’t say I’m entirely thrilled about your choice of a mate, but I do want to be happy for you. I cannot understand how this could have possibly happened and while I am extremely concerned about your future, I know there’s no stopping you.”

Arthur felt all of the tension and worry rush out of his body. “Oh, _thank you_! Thank you Francis, really. I’m going to be fine, really,” he said earnestly. “Better than fine.”

“But,” Francis interrupted, “I want to meet him.”

“Wh—are you sure?” Arthur asked, shocked. “You’d be willing to sneak out of the clan boundaries to do something that terrifies you?”

“Yes,” Francis affirmed, although he didn’t sound very certain. “After all, I’d like to make sure that you will be in good hands, my friend.”

“We still aren’t friends,” Arthur grouched. “But…I suppose if you’re serious, you can come with me when I go to meet him tomorrow. You’ll just need to make sure you have an alibi so nobody is suspicious when I don’t return after last being seen with you.”

Francis chuckled. “Yes, yes, I don’t want to be charged with your murder. Shall I meet you here tomorrow then?”

“Right around the time everyone usually starts sunning themselves.”

“Alright,” Francis said as he slithered around Arthur and made his way towards the entrance of the den. “I really hope you know what you are doing.”

“Not really,” Arthur admitted. “But the reason _why_ I’m doing it is compelling enough.”

Francis gave him a fond smile and rolled his eyes. “Be careful, my friend. More talk of love and you will start to sound like me!”

Instead of scowling and professing that he would rather cut his own tongue out than begin to sound like the other, Arthur merely laughed joyfully as Francis took his leave. After all, it was hard to behave sourly when things were going so well.


End file.
